Driftwood

[Bottom Dweller]

Anyone have any advice on selecting driftwood?

What is the difference between weighted pieces and pre-soaked pieces?
Do I need to wash or boil the pieces? I would like to get a fairly large centerpiece for my 75 Gallon-
Can anyone suggest good web retailers whose driftwood won't darken the water.

 

[Ferris]

I wouldn't reccommend driftwood for an African tank, it normally reduces the Ph of the water, which could well prove detrimental to your fish. If you really want to go with wood, i would look at Mopani wood, which is very hard and should only minimally affect the tank Ph, most good LFS carry this. Even then, make sure you have a Ph test kit to monitor any changes that may occur.