Sealing driftwood for brackish aquarium

[Dave]

I have looked high and low for some truly nice fake driftwood to no avail. I have some West System Epoxy that is aquarium safe. I initially bought it to make one of these:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_other_netmax_styro.htm

I'm thinking that if a piece of driftwood is sealed, it will not rot. Am I correct for thinking that?

(crossposted from The Puffer Forum as I know this place gets lots more traffic )

[midgetwaiter]

I know that the peeps at the puffer forum seem to be convinced that this is a big problem but it isn't.

I've had mopani and a couple other types of wood in brackish tanks without any problems. I wouldn't get too excited about it, considering hard our water is you won't have troubles outside of a little discoloring of the water just like a FW tank. The pH will not be lowered if you are doing regular water changes.

[Gripe]

I've make this point at the puffer forum before and it is soundly ignored. There is a group think culture going on there that drives me just batty. Anyone that tries to introduce a new idea or question a commonly held belief there gets shouted down immediately. I won't bother fighting it anymore.

I've been keeping puffers for 10+ years and at one point had what I'm sure was the largest collection in Canada but if you're not in the PF clique they don't want to hear from you.

[/Gripe]

Edited January 6, 2006 by midgetwaiter

[Dave]

I understand your frustration.

I like to hear all viewpoints, as I tend to take everything with a grain of salt and form my own opinions. I know that the malaysian driftwood that I use in my planted tanks does not take well to BW as it tends to disintigrate, even at the best of times in FW. I know The Puffer Forum is entrenched in some of their ideas, but I believe it to be good natured. Their fastidious habits certainly keep a tank clean and a fish healthy, you cannot deny that!

I was trying to go for a fallen tree look with large long pieces of thin driftwood from the BC coast. Someone brought up the issue of the shiny factor of the epoxy, but I believe that can be countered with a bit of fine-grit sandpaper. 'll be sure to try this on a small piece of wood first to see if the epoxy even works.

The reason for the epoxy is that the decor will primarily be wood, with very few rocks. I want to minimise the detrius coming off the wood, polluting the nice sand below

Edited January 6, 2006 by Dave

[midgetwaiter]

Try grapevine, that will give you the look you are after.

[RD.]

There is a group think culture going on there that drives me just batty. Anyone that tries to introduce a new idea or question a commonly held belief there gets shouted down immediately. I won't bother fighting it anymore.

Welcome to my world.

While my situation doesn't directly apply to Puffers, it easily could. My advice, don't give up the good fight, some lurker may be picking up on your posts without you ever knowing it. This 'group think culture' as you referred to it is alive & well on most forums, both marine as well as freshwater, and IMO thinking outside the box & testing the waters with fresh ideas is always a good thing in this hobby.

I'd hate to think what this hobby would be like if we were all still stuck back in the methods & equipment of the 60's & 70's.

[Pufferpack]

LOL...you can break through the "group think" at the Puffer Forum, you just need to be real patient and couch things as direct observations.....things eventually break through (about the 10th time you mention the same thing) :boom: , but as Dave mentions it is mostly good natured and in the interrests of giving puffers the best conditions possible.

One question for you though, about the wood most commonly sold in LFS (not the Mopani). What type of wood is this? Is it usually the same, or just randon "driftwood"? The reason I ask is that I have a huge stump that I was looking at to take a couple pieces off of for woodworking projects (nice Purplish colour inside) but won't bother if it is the same as some of the other woods I have.

[Mighty Prawn]

I understand your frustration.

I like to hear all viewpoints, as I tend to take everything with a grain of salt and form my own opinions. I know that the malaysian driftwood that I use in my planted tanks does not take well to BW as it tends to disintigrate, even at the best of times in FW. I know The Puffer Forum is entrenched in some of their ideas, but I believe it to be good natured. Their fastidious habits certainly keep a tank clean and a fish healthy, you cannot deny that!

I was trying to go for a fallen tree look with large long pieces of thin driftwood from the BC coast. Someone brought up the issue of the shiny factor of the epoxy, but I believe that can be countered with a bit of fine-grit sandpaper. 'll be sure to try this on a small piece of wood first to see if the epoxy even works.

The reason for the epoxy is that the decor will primarily be wood, with very few rocks. I want to minimise the detrius coming off the wood, polluting the nice sand below

Oh hell yes I hear what you're saying. I call it "Old Dog" syndrome, and is common in every single hobby or interest out there. Just like when people thought the world was flat.

-Hideo

[jvision]

Just like when people thought the world was flat.

You'd be surprised to know that the earth is actually banana shaped.