Tropica Driftwood

What is Tropica Driftwood?

Tropica Driftwood is natural driftwood that recreates the natural habitat for the fish within your aquarium. Available in various shapes and sizes between 12 and 20cm, Tropica Driftwood is perfect for creating a unique hardscape as it adds a sense of depth and character to your fish tank.

What other aquarium decor do I need?

Aquarium wood can be used to create stunning hardscapes. You can enhance your piece of driftwood by attaching aquarium plants such as Java ferns, Anubias or Java moss. In planted aquariums, large pieces of hardscaping wood can be added as a centrepiece. Place driftwood out of the water in open-topped tanks or hang it upside down in biotopes to simulate overhanging wood from the forest canopy above.

What are the benefits of natural driftwood?

Driftwood contributes significantly to the natural decor of many tree-lined streams and rivers. As a result, adding driftwood to an aquarium can help promote natural behaviour in your fish and mimic their natural habitat in the wild. It also serves as a place to hide, breed, and even feed.

Driftwood not only looks great, but it also stimulates and maintains the ecosystem within an aquarium. Driftwood, like the substrate and filter media in an aquarium, encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria are critical because they convert fish byproducts into less toxic compounds, thereby keeping your fish healthy.

Is Tropica Driftwood suitable for my aquarium?

Driftwood is a natural decoration that can be used in most freshwater aquariums. It's a staple in most biotope tanks where aquascapers want to replicate a sunken wood habitat, and it's also popular in planted aquariums and aquascaped tanks where ferns and moss attach to it with special plant glue, cotton thread or fishing line, for added beauty and natural effect. Driftwood is not suitable for aquariums that require a high pH and KH.

Do I need to presoak my driftwood?

When driftwood is first placed in an aquarium, many fishkeepers notice that it will leach tannins. These tannins turn the water yellow, then brown, turning the aquarium water the colour of tea. These tannins are naturally produced by wood and are completely natural. While your water may require filtration and treatments to maintain the proper pH balance, tannins have been shown to benefit the health of many fish species. Tannins will be released less and less over time.

Before adding newly purchased driftwood to your tank, we recommend soaking it. You can do this by immersing it in a bucket of water or a large vat of water, such as a water butt, for several weeks before adding it to your aquarium. If it floats, place a rock on top of it to keep it from floating away. Alternatively, you can remove tannins from your aquarium by adding activated carbon to the filter.