malasian drift wood

[macody]

Hi all this is my first post. :) I currenlty have a 180 african river set up that I am thinking about going discus. It is loaded with malasian drift wood. This stuff seams to be soft and dirty after about a year. Are there any types you all recommend. From what I have gathered here bare bottom with driftwood and potted plants is what i want to attempt.

[lhforbes12]

Macody,
Malaysian driftwood is a fine choice.

Larry

[Harriett]

If the driftwood seems 'dirty', you can pull it from the tank and use a soft brush to scrub down the surfaces under running water--that will clean up anything that is too boggy or loose. I do that with my Malasian about once a year. Another kind of driftwood that works great and holds together very well is what they call African Monkeywood--it is dense, narley, and very interesting looking--it pretty much sinks immediately when you put it in water. I keep both kinds in my tanks--the discus do well, the plecs do well with it.
Hope this helps.
Harriett

[macody]

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to pull the substrate out and scrub the driftwood this weekend. I will look for the monkeywood. Where is the best place to find it. My LFS has Malasyian but not african wood. I live in columbus ohio usa

[SSteino86]

I have a 125g that I was looking to put a nice driftwood centerpiece in. Where did you guys purchase your driftwood?

[korbi_doc]

:D I've been collecting driftwood for awhile & I esp. love the Malaysian wood cuz it looks so good...don't know the monkeywood, but if anyone knows where to get it, would be interested in it..I like the gnarly look of those woods...spice up the tank, lol, & like Harriet recommends, clean with brush when nec, the plecs usually keep it pretty clean but it will all get slightly soft, Dottie ;)

[AmberC]

I also have malaysian driftwood in my tank. I love it. I bought mine from my lfs.
Amber

[Cosmo]

I bought some African driftwood a year or so ago from Drsfostersmith.com, is knarly as all get out, but they didn't identify it as monkeywood so I don't know if it is or not. Bought two pieces, the one that's about 18 inches long sank instantly, the one that's three feet long took several weeks to sink.. a real PITA.

I have Malaysian driftwood I bought from an LFS about a year and a half ago. Nice pieces but I'm thinking of replacing them cause they are getting soft. drsfostersmith.com used to sell Malaysian, don't know if they do or not, but the problem with buying driftwood from them is you never know what it's going to look like until it shows up :(

Jim

[Harriett]

I don't know the actual tree name; you can find pictorial examples of it if you go to: www.azgardens.com/Driftwood.php. I just googled african driftwood. It's been years since I stocked up. A giant Petsmart had opened a couple blocks from my house several years ago which was initially staffed by folks who either didn't know or care what they were doing with the pricing label gun for quite some time....I bought tons of monkeywood and rose quartz and slate rock, etc for basically nothin'. Then the manager must of wised up but in the meantime, I got enough 'supplies' that I am still sitting on new stuff...heeheehee. The difference between it and the Malaysian is that it is denser, heavier, narlier (lots of plex sized hiding spots), and has both a medium coffee brown and deep deep brown/black ropey coloration intertwining through it. It has a hard surface and doesn't break down--it is a fabulous addition to the tank. I think Foster/Smith may have it but I'd look locally. Also ebay and aquabid have bigger chunks up for sale from time to time.
Hope that helps.
Harriett

[RobMc]

Drs. F&S are having a sale on driftwood today:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?ref=4072&cm_mmc=Email-_-Red_Tag-_-06_Jun_29-_-Fish&subref=AA&N=2004+113843+113714

Rob

[Desertdiscus]

Pet Solutions sells diferent driftwood.. Swahala, Bayou, and Malaysian. Maybe, the Swahala is the monkeywood? Petsolutions.com

Jim