Driftwood Questions

thisguyek · Aug 7, 2011

Thinking about re-doing my tank sometime in the near future. I'd like to take a bit more of a natural route this time around and i was thinking about a large driftwood centerpiece. A lady at my LFS said that driftwood will keep my water an amber color. Is this true for all driftwood... or are there types out there that won't do this? I'm quite fond of the crystal clear color tanks, and not sure if im willing to compromise with that.

Also... is bog wood the same as driftwood?

How does everyone feel about java moss? is it pretty hardy, or does it take a bit of effort to keep it going? How hard is it to keep it growing where you want it to?

Thanks for the input!

Fyurae · Aug 7, 2011

Not all driftwood will, but more than likely yes. However, after a month or so in the tank, most wood will only barely discolor the water, and its often not very noticeable.

Bog wood, generally, is wood that sinks.

Java moss is super hardy. I does like to drift around, but there are myriad ways to attach it to something. You can wrap it around the ends of a piece of wood to make 'trees,' use fishing line to train it to grow on rocks or logs, weave it into craft canvas to make walls of moss or instant carpets, or just let it rest in a huge mass. Unlike a lot of plants, java moss inherently sinks, so it will just stay in a big mass on the bottom. The only troublesome things about it are the errant strands that will find their way to other places in the tank, and the slow growth rate.

Caprichoso · Aug 7, 2011

thisguyek said:
Thinking about re-doing my tank sometime in the near future. I'd like to take a bit more of a natural route this time around and i was thinking about a large driftwood centerpiece. A lady at my LFS said that driftwood will keep my water an amber color. Is this true for all driftwood... or are there types out there that won't do this? I'm quite fond of the crystal clear color tanks, and not sure if im willing to compromise with that.

Also... is bog wood the same as driftwood?

How does everyone feel about java moss? is it pretty hardy, or does it take a bit of effort to keep it going? How hard is it to keep it growing where you want it to?

Thanks for the input!

Most driftwood will contain tannins which colour the water. Old, weathered driftwood won't have any tannins and you will know by the colour of it because it will have a greyish tinge to it whereas newer wood looks dark brown or reddish brown. Some woods have more tannins, like mopani. Manzanita wood doesn't have as many tannins but they are still in there. You can remove the tannins by doing large weekly water changes and having a carbon insert in your filter. The tannins will eventually stop leeching out but it can take some time. As far as java moss goes, it is easy to grow and doesn't require a lot of light, though more light will speed up the growing and change the look of the moss. I also really like weeping moss and flame moss, both are easy to grow. If you want a moss that will attach itself to wood, try phoenix moss. It is a more difficult moss and is very slow growing. The other mosses have to be attached to what you want and then trimmed as they won't keep attaching to the object readily. I think I like the growing pattern of java moss the LEAST because it just grows all stringy and wild, whereas the other types have a definite growing pattern from my experience.

thisguyek · Aug 7, 2011

Caprichoso said:
Most driftwood will contain tannins which colour the water. Old, weathered driftwood won't have any tannins and you will know by the colour of it because it will have a greyish tinge to it whereas newer wood looks dark brown or reddish brown. Some woods have more tannins, like mopani. Manzanita wood doesn't have as many tannins but they are still in there. You can remove the tannins by doing large weekly water changes and having a carbon insert in your filter. The tannins will eventually stop leeching out but it can take some time. As far as java moss goes, it is easy to grow and doesn't require a lot of light, though more light will speed up the growing and change the look of the moss. I also really like weeping moss and flame moss, both are easy to grow. If you want a moss that will attach itself to wood, try phoenix moss. It is a more difficult moss and is very slow growing. The other mosses have to be attached to what you want and then trimmed as they won't keep attaching to the object readily. I think I like the growing pattern of java moss the LEAST because it just grows all stringy and wild, whereas the other types have a definite growing pattern from my experience.

these mosses you've described... are they pretty easy to get a hold of, or will I be better off purchasing it online? Same question for the driftwood.

Say I would be getting some cichlid stones... and i would like to grow the moss on them... what would be the best type of moss for this and what would be the easiest way to go about doing it?

Caprichoso · Aug 8, 2011

You will probably have to visit a specialty LFS or order online. Same thing with the drift wood. Someone on the forum in your area may also have what you're looking for as far as the moss goes(post a want ad in the appropriate section-buy and sell maybe?). I don't know what cichlid stones are? Is it slate? The easiest way to attach any moss to an object is with glue. The stuff I have is called CorAffix Cyanoacrylate Adhesive. It is easy to use and convenient as you can put glue on the moss(out of the water) and place it on the object that's under the water! As the moss grows, you can just pull the longer pieces off and put more glue on it and attach it wherever you want. Much easier than using fishing line and it's totally non-toxic. What type of growth pattern are you wanting to achieve? Weeping moss-grows downward. Flame moss- grows up and looks like a flame. Phoenix-follows the shape of the object(don't know if it attaches to smooth rocks though but will to rough rock and all wood). Java-has no defined pattern, it looks like wild hair, all over the place.

thisguyek · Aug 9, 2011

I guess id be looking for phoenix moss. I'd like it to grow like a 'blanket' over the stuff.

Im not exactly sure what the cichlid stones are made of. theyre not real rock... I think theyre like an acrylic...? my buddy has some and they look more rough than smooth.

alright, make sure i understand this.... as the moss grows, I will have to continue to glue it down? It wont attach itself as it grows?

thanks for the help!

Fyurae · Aug 9, 2011

Here are some incarnations of Java Moss:

Carpeting a rock. It did this on its own, starting with one little strand that attached, then it spreads across the rock.

Tied to a rock with fishing line. Hoping to get the same effect as the other rock.

I made some 'trees' in the old tank, this is all that's left of them since they've been ravaged by a bubble-nest-making gourami. This I did by just grabbing strands of the moss and winding them around the branches.

Making a carpet. This hasn't grown in yet, but what I did was weave the moss through a plastic canvas and then bury the canvas under the substrate.

Free-floating thicket. The fish love this.

As you can see, it's versatile stuff. It does well in pretty much any environment - low light, cold water, anything. Also, if you find someone that has some java moss, they're more than likely going to be happy to give you some for free. All of the moss I have came from a tiny pinch of moss someone gave me. It grows slow in low light, but if you put it in a tank with good growing conditions it will spread quickly.

Caprichoso · Aug 9, 2011

thisguyek said:
I guess id be looking for phoenix moss. I'd like it to grow like a 'blanket' over the stuff.

Im not exactly sure what the cichlid stones are made of. theyre not real rock... I think theyre like an acrylic...? my buddy has some and they look more rough than smooth.

alright, make sure i understand this.... as the moss grows, I will have to continue to glue it down? It wont attach itself as it grows?

thanks for the help!

Phoenix moss will attach...but I can't say for sure whether it will attach to your cichlid stones. It will follow the shape of the object. For instance, if you placed it on a gnarled piece of drift wood, it's rhizomes will grow into the wood and eventually the branch will be covered. But, this tyoe of moss is one of the slowest growing. Java moss will hang on to very rough surfaces, like coconut shell and lava rock, etc. It will grow faster than the phoenix moss. So, you will not have to keep gluing phoenix moss down but you will have to with other mosses. This is all dependant of coarse on the item in which you initially attach it to. Smooth item=probably won't attach. Rough item=will attach.