Aquarium wood types/observations

I decided to start this one to get input from members as to their experience with different types of wood used in the aquarium.

I recently sold off all my Manzanita branches because I did not like the tendency it had to get covered in a black slime along with a black hair algae growth. I would pretty much have to pull out the pieces and pressure wash them off about once every 6 weeks. I hated having that kind of maintenance! Now my tank looks very bare.

In my 56g I have a piece of Mopani that looks good and does not seem to get any type of algae growth on it. It did release tannins for a while but Ive had it over a year and it has no issues with that any more. I might consider some for the 210g but its expensive.

I would like to hear about Malaysian driftwood from any using it. I do like the look of many of the pieces Ive seen. How does it hold up? Lots of tannins? Lots of algae growth?

same topic i would also like to get this info also i have a piece of driftwood new in my tank and it has a white slimy substance sounds almost like your black slime? what is it and when i wash it will it go away?

not sure what petco used to sell (some sort of cheap bogwood/driftwood i think), but I have had about 8 or 9 med/large pieces rotating throughout my tanks that I bought about ten years ago and have never experienced more than a little algae on them which my plecos have always taken care of. After about four years, the outer layers flaked off, but I just scooped them out. No big deal.

as for mopani wood, i have only one piece, and never had any problems with that either, though I heard (not sure if it is true though) that it is part of the deforestization problem in Africa, so I have never sought out more than that.

I have both types, including some manzanita and bog. Each one has its own unique look. I have never had the issues on them that you both speak of. (as for the white slime, just take the wood out scrub it with a stiff brush and hose off, the slime should stay gone)

I just purchased 4 pieces from Kens (2 x malaysian & 2 x mopani) I like the Mopani from him much better. You can see a piece of the mopani and the malaysian in the left side of the picture. The light colored piece is the mopani, and it can come in various colors. I read somewhere that explains how the wood gets that light colored look on one side and not the other. I have noticed that the malaysian breaks down faster. The manzanita and the bog hold up very well.
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Not sure if much of what I just rambled about even helps out, but good luck in choosing the right type.

algae growth is a product of the tank conditons not the wood.

Jones and co in Marysville sales Malaysian wood in bulk and has a tendency to carry large pieces. Still pretty expensive at near $5 lb. I've gotten some huge pieces off CL at the fraction of the cost.

I've never had issue with slime. Black hair algae and moss yes but these are natural growth. A boost of CO2 or a critter usually controls black hair algae for me.

hobbyorobsession wrote:algae growth is a product of the tank conditons not the wood.

True, but I find it interesting the black hair algae growth I would get with Manzanita wood and no such issue with Mopani. So something in the makeup of the one wood would encourage its growth while the other did not. These are the types of observations I was interested in. Like the comment made about the lifespan of the Malaysian driftwood being shorter than other types like the Mopani. Just looking for observation from others because I need to rethink my hardscape in my 210g.

Here was my 210g when I first set it up:
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I have seen both aquarium conditions and wood contributing to algae problems. I had madrona wood in one tank with no algae problems, but when moved to another tank that had bogwood (without algae), the madrona tended to pick up algae.

Sometimes if left alone, other plant species (moss, java fern etc) will grow over the moss and seem to out compete it.

I have manzanita and depending on the conditions, will sometimes have to scrape a soft layer of wood from the surface to get rid of algae. I think some pieces tend to decompose more than others.

I have also tried what I believe is grease wood, which I believe is a some sort of desert sagebrush. While seemingly hard, it also starts to decompose and so is more likely to pick up algae.

Not sure if this is right or not, but is seems like the woods that are more prone to decompose are more prone to algae.

I've also noticed that my Malaysian pieces break down faster than the mopani. I only use driftwood in my pleco tanks and I find they prefer the Malaysian wood to munch on, so it doesn't last like the mopani, which looks untouched.