There are many advantages of adding wood to a fish tank. It creates a very natural look, and gives your fish another object to play, swim, and hide in. Wood can also help support live plants like algae. However, not all wood is equal. Today we are going to discuss if you can put wood in a fish tank, and how to ensure that you do it safely without harming your fish.
Can you put wood in a fish tank?
Yes, you can put wood in a fish tank, but only certain types of wood. You should only put wood in your fish tank that has been dead for a while and dried out. If the wood still has green on the inside, you should not put it in your fish tank. This is because wood that is still alive contains tree sap that can leak into your fish tank and contaminate the water.
What type of wood should you put in your fish tank
When collecting wood for a fish tank, you should stay away from areas where you know a lot of pesticides are used. Additionally, you should avoid fruit trees, because the wood likely has citric acid which can harm your fish. If you live near a water source, driftwood is a great option to put in your fish tank. This is because the wood doesn’t need to be treated as much. However, make sure you don’t put driftwood from the ocean into a freshwater tank, as the salt can be toxic.
How to treat wood before putting it in your fish tank?
Every piece of wood that you put in your fish tank must first be treated. Here are the steps to treat wood:
- Scrub
Take a brush and with warm water scrub the wood clean. This will help remove pieces of dirt as well as any insects that might be living inside the wood. You can also put the wood in some boiling water to ensure that it is cleaned and free of harmful bacteria. Make sure that you do not use any type of soap when scrubbing the wood, as the soap contents can kill your fish.
- Submerge
The next step is to submerge the wood in a large bucket of water. This process can take multiple days, but it is very important for 2 reasons. The first is that wood naturally floats, and therefore must be submerged in water for an extended period of time so that it becomes waterlogged. If you don’t do this, the wood will simply float to the top of the fish tank. It is also important to submerge the wood in order to remove any discoloration. If you put wood directly into a fish tank, there is a chance it will discolor the water and make it a nasty murky color. By submerging it in a bucket beforehand, it gets rid of the discoloration. You should change the water in the bucket whenever it becomes discolored.
- Placement and testing
After the wood has been submerged for an adequate amount of time, you can finally put it into your fish tank. We recommend testing the water levels once a week for the first month, just to make sure that the wood has not significantly altered the fish tank water chemistry.
