Drift Wood question......

[SDEVO8]

Hello everyone, first time posting, I have a simple question. Is it safe to put a treated piece of driftwood (boiled and soaked in dechlorinated water) in an established tank with juvenile discus? I have four 2.5-3" juveniles with 2 blue rams in a 29 gallon, moderately planted tank. I've had them for 2 months (they've been doing great! :D ) I'm cycling a 55 gallon to move them later. I mainly want to leave the drift wood in the smaller tank in case I get a pairing.
I'm just worried about the leaching and water changing color because of the wood.
Thanks for all the help!!

[MoOcHiE525]

Dear Sdevo8,
I am not an expert on discus yet, but what you can do is put a teracotta pot in the tank, and put the piece of driftwood in the cyclying 55 gallon. The reason I think so is because The twenty nine gallon is not so big, and the pot would leave a lot more swimming space for the fish than a peice of driftwood. Also if the water would become stained in the 55 gallon than there would be no worries because it is still cycling. The 55 also has a lot more room than the 29, and the fish would feel pretty cramped with the driftwood. I hoped I helped.
Michael

[kodiak]

Driftwood only leaches for a little while when it is new and then stops. The tannins are not harmful for discus and with regular water changes you should not see much if any tint to the water color.

[SDEVO8]

MoOcHiE525:
I was thinking about doing that, but I already have some driftwood in the 55, I just wanted to make the 29 a little similar when I do move them. The good thing that they are not too cramped, but I would definetly not leave them in there for a long time. Thanks for your quick response!

kodiak:
Perfect.....I was afraid the leeching would stress them out, but I do a 30% wc every other day and a 50% wc on saturdays and sundays so that should take care of that. Thanks guys for the quick answers! :thumbsup:

[gators111]

Discus come from tannin stained waters, hence the name Rio Negro. Mine love the peat and blackwater additives. Plus it helps in algae control and water stability.