Driftwood Fuzz.

[Badjer]

This stuff is like the PLAGUE. I read that it's common for new driftwood to develop a white-ish fuzz so when all four pieces in my tank became covered in it I thought "hey, no biggie, it'll go away soon". That was towards the beginning of the month. So now I ask, how long until it goes away?! Is it bad to take a toothbrush to it and scrub it away manually? I'm a clean freak so stuff like this drives me mad!

[kfryman]

I had the same stuff, after a month, it almost never went down. Even with the driftwood out it took about two weeks for it all to go away. I see no harm done scrubbing it just be warned that when up taken it breaks into multiple small pieces. I want driftwood in my tank , but I can't due to the fuzz.

[thekoimaiden]

I have a bit of driftwood fuzz, but I have found than snails like to eat it. I have MTS, pond snails, and some ramshorns in my tanks, and they can't seem to get enough of the stuff. I only ever see the fuzz for like a day before they find it. If you don't have snails already, maybe try introducing MTS.

[bettafish15]

I had a fuzz over my driftwood too, but after soaking it in super hot water several times, it didn't go away and STANK to high heaven. Cleared out the room. Needless to say, I didn't dare put it back in. It has this white film on it now that it's dry.

[thekoimaiden]

Another way to avoid most of the driftwood fuzz is to only buy the darkest wood you can find. Malaysian driftwood is best.

[Badjer]

It doesn't seem to stink, it's just visually unappealing. I might try the snail trick. Despite their bioload, I was considering adding one or two anyways...maybe I'm weird, but snails to me are so cute! Would a species of snail besides MTS work? I'm fairly certain my lfs never stocks them.

Is Mopani wood btw...not recommended I know, but I bought it thinking it was Malaysian. It was boiled 5-6 times before it was added to the tank and soaked for a few days. The only issue I've had with it so far is the dreaded fuzz!

[thekoimaiden]

I like MTS because they also aerate the gravel, but I've found that my ramshorns also do a great job cleaning the wood. I don't think pond snails do a good job, tho; they're better at eating algae and plants. <_<

I actually have a piece of Mopani. I bought it before I knew about Malaysian. The MTS do a great job of keeping the fuzz down on it.

[Badjer]

Any idea how Apple snails do? Petco has those for sure...think I can run to Petsmart tomorrow and see what they have depending on how I feel. Just got my wisdom teeth out about an hour ago. XD

[Jodah]

scrub it and boil it if you can, or, fill up a bucket with very hot water first. It'll eventually go away on it's own.

[Badjer]

I can scrub it, but 3 pieces have plants growing on them so boiling is out of the question. I'd rather deal with the fuzz than loose my plants!