Keeping Driftwood Clean of Slime Coat

[xxbenjamminxx]

Hey all I was wondering what the people do or use to get rid of or clean off the slime that builds up on their driftwood in the tank?

I have been hosing it off, but was wondering if soaking it in a bucket/tub with some PP would work well? I also have a few Albino BN plecos I could add in there and I suppose they would just stick to the wood and keep it pretty clean.

Just want to hear what others do if you have DW as there has to be any easier way then hauling it all out each week, then hosing and scrubbing it off.

Thanks in advance, Ben

[Keith Perkins]

PP will definitely kill anything growing on DW if you dose it heavy.

[3dees]

I have a ton of wood in my tank and never remove it. I use a brush before a wc. bn plecos do a good job, until they become adults. I had one and he stopped cleaning the wood once he realized it was easier to eat the fish food. plus it produced more waste than all the other fish combined. best thing I did was to get rid of him.

[applekrate]

Once a month I set mine out in direct sun for the afternoon, flipping as each side dries. Then scrub good and rinse. It also dries up snail egg slime making it easy to remove. My manzanita slimmed less and less each cleaning. During the month I occasionally brush off without removing before a water change. JMO NAE

[DonMD]

I pull mine out once a week and just brush it off in the sink using a toilet brush and water. Obviously the toilet brush is just for the tank LOL.

[Lt shinysides]

I put mine in the dish washer on hottest setting no soap

[jesseter]

Wouldn't the PP stain the driftwood? I know that when I disinfected some plants for my goldfish it stained the container it was in. Just a thought. Thanks.

Jesse

[pastry]

Ben, how long has the driftwood been in the tank? I'm asking because when I first got my driftwood (from a local lake; cured it myself) then about a month (or more; maybe) it started to get a film on it that looked like the slime coat of my fish but it wasn't from them. It eventually went away (well, I wiped down some of it and syphoned it). Basically I just lef it alone.

If that's not the case (if it's been in there forever) then I just leave my DW in the tank and it grows some algae on it that I sort of like. I've never had a prob with discus slime coats on anything though.

[Keith Perkins]

Wouldn't the PP stain the driftwood?

Not that I've noticed, but my dirftwood is all pretty dark to begin with.

[Oscarsx]

boil that sucker!!

[a volar]

I just wipe my driftwood with a clean clothe once in a while depending how they look, when I'm making a water change. Just when the water level is very low, before start filling tank and I'm doing it now because my plecos stop cleaning them, in my case I have long driftwood branches that are being hold by stainless steel screws on top of tank.

[xxbenjamminxx]

boil that sucker!!

Some of the pieces are like 3 feet + long so boiling isnt really an option. I have noticed that the slime is no longer appearing on the DW like it was. I do have 1 BN pleco in there to clean up extra food, but he spends alot of time on wood so I assume he is doing some of the cleaning for me.

[Oscarsx]

That white fungus type looking thing will go away on its own, just like diatoms. You can scrape and clean all you want, it will keep coming back until it decides to go away... for diatoms we get ottos, white fungus we get some bn plecos.... no worries my friend that ugly white algae will soon dissapear patelience!

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[xxbenjamminxx]

Thanks I know all about the white fungus. This almost looked like excess slime coat from the fish. I ended up using pp on them in a bug tub and dropped em back in. They had some black brush algae from being in a planted tank prior and that took care if that too. I see its falling off now. :)



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[pastry]

+1 what Oscar said... it'll go away.

[Stuewart]

I wish mine would go away hahaha. I have 2 large 30lb peices of mopani that used to be in my dad/uncles tanks for 10+ years and they passed the peices to me, and I STILL get the fungus.. >.<

[discuskeith]

PP will definitely kill anything growing on DW if you dose it heavy.

What does "PP" stand for?

[Len]

I have the manzanita that I got 2 years ago and it still gets that white fungus on it and a slime coat as well. I've boiled it, baked it, soaked it in bleach and PP (not at the same time) and none of that worked. The PP (potassium permanganate) doesn't stain it, but other than maybe sterilizing it, doesn't do much. In the end it was just easier to take a tootbrush once in awhile and scrub it right in the tank. The white fungus and junk sink and then just siphon it off. It's easier than taking it out of the tank, dripping everywhere and it's pretty quick. In between, just run the siphon hose along the wood and a lot will come off pretty easily.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

I have had the same issues only with Manzanita driftwood. Tried everything like Len described and all you can really do is have a good cleaning crew or take it out completely.

[dirtyplants]

I collect my wood from the lake after it is washed up after a storm. I lean if up in the yard and leave it there for a year. Wind, Ice, Sun, and Rain for about a year. I keep collecting wood have a stock pile now. I then boil water and rinse thoroughly for use. I allow algae to grow on it, it looks great and it allows for plecos to nibble. Never a problem with film.

[OC Discus]

I think the white slime on the wood is bacteria- the kind that coats the glass. I may be wrong, but the beneficial bacteria bunches up like that in colonies. The wood is probably a food source. Brushing it off with a toothbrush before a water change, then vacuuming it out is probably the easiest way to handle it.

[krislewis3]

After trying EVERYTHING to rid my beautiful manzanita of that whitefish grey fungus, I finally pulled it out of the tank!! The tank is much easier to clean now!!!! Kris

[joanstone]

I was having trouble with that as well. It was really bugging me and I kept taking it out and scrubbing it with a brush. It is now in a different tank with more flow. Not sure if that's the reason, but no more fungus on the wood.

[spiffyfish]

Try pressure washing it

[dirtyplants]

From what I understand the fungus on the wood comes from the water, and the woods surface is its food, part of the break down process, it will die off with time. UV may help, I even heard of lowering the ph. When I first placed new wood in my tank I had the same problem I tried washing scrubbing,... finally gave up. It died off on it's own.