# rotting wood



## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

is there a concern about rotting wood?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That it might rot? Or should you get it out of your tank if it IS rotting?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

if its rotting what are the concern? will it harm the fish or just break apart?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Two thoughts on rotting wood. One is that it can be a problem with appearance and as the bits come off they can get into filters and stop impellers, etc. Something to watch and then decide how you feel about it. Some people are very bothered by the appearance.

As the wood rots, it shows it is deteriorating pretty quick. This gives an indication that it will be adding far more to the bio-load than a solid piece just laying there. To me that requires a bit ore watching on how it might change your water qualities and maintenance routine. The rotting wood itself is not a big thing but the effects are larger. You might look at it as a massive overfeeding producing a massive bio-load?? Depends on your water (buffering?) how much it changes things.

I find it no problem with my water other than the extra work involved in keeping the bits cleaned up.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

ok great thanks for the info. what i fear was that a rotting piece might release something and kills my fish over night =/.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

As PfunMo hinted, rotting wood is a source of ammonia. If it's a small piece of wood and you have good biofiltration, the bacteria might be able to keep up. But you might have to perform daily water changes to keep down nitrate levels. If it's a big piece of wood, it can easily kill the fish. Rotting wood is certainly not something you want to introduce to your tank. Existing pieces of wood you want to monitor periodically, and remove them when rotting becomes excessive. I am not talking about little bits falling off, but about a whole piece of driftwood becoming soft and disintegrating.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Like the others, I'd remove it but no need to rush. And that was my thought...anything decaying in the tank can add to the toxins in the tank. Just like I would remove a rotting fish...although sometimes I don't find them and the bacteria are able to handle it.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Lots of times it is a matter of definition. What is rotting is just getting soft to other people. If you watch your water, there is no big overnight change going to kill the fish.

Like you say "no medicine works better than clean water" ! Keep it clean and the rest will take care of itself. Plants, snails, fish or food, it's all organic debris working to mess up the water. It's how much we want to deal with to keep each item.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

PfunMo said:


> Plants, [...] it's all organic debris working to mess up the water.


That's true if you are working with the assumption that your plants are dead or in the process of dieing. Mine are alive and I try to keep it that way so that they will remove waste like nitrogen compounds and carbon-dioxide from the water. :wink:


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