# White paste like substance leaching from driftwood



## Robbie X (23 Apr 2017)

Hi guys, have been soaking a large piece of driftwood root (I think its birch) for around 2 weeks now.
Found it on my local beach, looks like it's been in the water quite some time as all the ends are rounded and it's been stripped of bark.
I change the water every day but this slimy paste like substance keeps reappearing. 
It looks very much like well-diluted wallpaper paste.
Any ideas what it could be?


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## Kezzab (23 Apr 2017)

Fungus/mould of some sort. It will most likely go away at some point. The willow root i used recently is still growing a bit of fungus after 12 weeks ish, but a lot less than at first.


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## zozo (24 Apr 2017)

Bacteria is also common  than the wood probably contains something this bacteria lives off, once this all is consummed it dissappears on it's own again.


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## dan4x4 (25 Apr 2017)

zozo said:


> Bacteria is also common  than the wood probably contains something this bacteria lives off, once this all is consummed it dissappears on it's own again.



this is correct. Zozo is always right lol 

had this twice now when new wood added to a new tank. 

1st occasion was like a slime on the wood itself, diaspeered on its own.

2nd occasion was on the substrate it seemed to grow more than the one on the wood. I was slightly concerned but just when it was getting close to plants it started to go brown. Once it was brown the shrimps and snails ate it. From the initial brown appearance it disappeared within days. Substrate this time around is westland aquatic compost. It had been sitting in the garden for days before being used.


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## zozo (25 Apr 2017)

Nah!? Not always. Far from it..


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## dan4x4 (26 Apr 2017)

zozo said:


> Nah!? Not always. Far from it..



Zozo you are an expert though, even though you look a bit crazy in your picture lol


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## zozo (26 Apr 2017)

Well what can i say..  Thank you i'm flattered. Glad i could help.. Just sharing experience and thoughts. I don't consider myself an expert nor have the ambition to be one, way to jumpy for that.. Probably crazier as i look.


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## Smells Fishy (27 Apr 2017)

dan4x4 said:


> Zozo you are an expert though, even though you look a bit crazy in your picture lol



When members here reach his kind of comment count its a good indicator they know more than they let on lol.

This white pastey crap happened to me the only time I used a piece of driftwood from the beach, same as @Robbie X with no bark and nice rounded edges. I cleaned it off but it came back again so I removed the wood thinking it was dodgey. I know better now tho, just got to ruff it out. Strange really this fungus or bacteria whatever it is, must come from a saltwater environment. So you know fw whitespot and sw whitespot are two different things and don't survive in each others contrasts, sort of thought it might apply for the wood.


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## alto (27 Apr 2017)

Birch is also one of those trees that is tapped for sap


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## Mortis (7 May 2017)

This happens quite often with new driftwood. Nothing to worry about. You can siphon it out each time it forms using an airline tube. Its just a bacterial bloom. Also black Mollies and Otos eat it


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