Rust

[ellie]

I bought a large tank and some very large driftwood came with it. I noticed that the driftwood was conected to weight slate with screws that are rusting will the rust hurt the fish?

[Ardan]

Hi,
Probably not , unless there are many screws. You could go to the hardware store and get some stainless steel screws and replace them.
You may have to drill them out if they are too rusty and won't turn.

If you do many wc's as discus require the iron (from the rust) will be minimal in the water.

Driftwood should be sanitized before using. either boil or use bleach and then rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse (to get bleach out) and then air dry. (use dechlor in the rinse water too)


The driftwood could leech other things into the water too. SOmetimes its good (similar to peat moss). Sometimes not so good. (depending on the type of driftwood) It could also be a breeding ground for bacteria. (clean well and keep clean)

hth

btw, welcome! :)

[ellie]

Thanks for the info. i was told driftwood was cleaned. Discus in tank are doing ok.
I do have some old driftwood that sinks on its own. That wood I know will drop ph, and will keep tank at 6.5 ph.
Wish I had some more of that wood.

thanks ellie

[Carol_Roberts]

I think the rust may bother the discus. I had a problem in a tank several years ago. Suddenly the discus became very skittish. I had used twist ties to hold something together. The wire twist ties had rusted. I started taking everything out of the tank trying to find the problem. After removal the rusted ties the discus calmed down and acted normal.

[Ardan]

Ah,
I remember that now! :)

I think to be safe, replace the screws with stainless steel screws, or use an aguarium safe silicone to glue the driftwood to the slate!

hth


Thanks Carol for the memory refresher! ;D (is it old age? :o , for me?)