The best driftwood for an aquarium is wood sold for aquarium use, in the type that suits your tank. Choose spider wood for a planted layout, Malaysian driftwood if you want it to sink without a soak, or mopani for a heavy piece and tea-coloured water. Rinse it, soak it until it sinks, and expect a brown tint at first.
Don't add wood if your fish need hard, alkaline water. Swell UK says tannins soften and acidify water, which makes wood a poor match for those fish.
How to read this page
These picks are types of wood, not products I've compared side by side. My 90-litre planted community tank has a Java fern growing on a piece of driftwood, and my Juwel Trigon 190 has had wood in it too, but the comparison below comes from the sources cited. The models named are examples with published sizes. Prices are what each retailer showed on 4 November 2026, and they'll change. Every piece of wood is different, so treat the sizes as a guide.
The short answer
- A planted tank: spider wood — pick 1.
- You want to skip the long soak: Malaysian driftwood — pick 2.
- A big, heavy centrepiece, and you like tinted water: mopani — pick 3.
- Long, thin branches: manzanita — pick 4.
- You want plants wedged in without glue: dragon wood — pick 5.
The picks
Quick comparison
| # | Type | Best for | Sinks? | Tannins | Example | Price seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider wood | Planted layouts | Floats until waterlogged | Little, per Bulk Reef Supply | UNS Spider Wood, small, 8–12 in | $8.09 (Bulk Reef Supply) |
| 2 | Malaysian driftwood | Sinking without a soak | Usually at once | Yes, released slowly | UNS Malaysian, small, 8–12 in | $7.99 (Bulk Reef Supply) |
| 3 | Mopani | A heavy piece | Fast | High | Fluval Mopani, small, 10 × 25 cm | £9.99, pre-order (Real Aquatics) |
| 4 | Manzanita | Long, thin branches | Floats a little at first | Low | Sandblasted, extra small, 6–9 in | $10.99 (Buce Plant) |
| 5 | Dragon wood | Rhizome plants | Floats; may need weighing down for good | Yes | UNS Dragon Wood, small, 8–12 in | $8.99 (Bulk Reef Supply) |
How I chose
Four things matter more than the name on the label:
Whether it sinks. This is the difference between adding a piece today and waiting weeks. Dense woods such as Malaysian and mopani go down quickly, and light woods take time.
How much it tints the water. Aqua Rocks Colorado says reducing tannins mainly matters for clear, bright planted tanks. A blackwater tank wants the colour.
How well it holds plants. Java fern, Anubias and mosses can all grow on submerged wood, according to Swell UK. Branches and cavities give them more places to attach.
Shape and fit. Charterhouse Aquatics warns that an oversized piece can overwhelm a small tank. Wood is sold by length, so measure before you buy.
Each pick, honestly
1. Spider wood — best for planted layouts. Aqua-Fish.net calls it azalea root. Its pale, twisted branches suit tree-like layouts, says Glass Aqua, and Charterhouse Aquatics rates it for Anubias, Java fern, Bucephalandra and mosses. Bulk Reef Supply says it has minimal effect on pH and doesn't discolour the water the way denser woods do. Drawback: it floats until it's waterlogged. One Aquarium Co-Op forum member needed rocks on it for at least a week, and found that it grows white mould.
2. Malaysian driftwood — best for sinking without a soak. Bulk Reef Supply says it "usually sinks immediately without the need for pre-soaking". Glass Aqua describes thick trunks and gnarled surfaces, and suggests it for nature-style tanks. Drawback: it isn't tannin-free. Bulk Reef Supply says it releases tannins that can soften water, though Aqua-Fish.net says it does so more slowly than other types. Rinsing alone may leave you with a tint.
3. Mopani — best for a heavy piece and tinted water. This dense African hardwood has two-tone colouring. Charterhouse Aquatics says it sinks quickly and lasts, and Aquasabi lists it as fast-sinking but warns that its wood isn't pre-soaked, so timing varies. Glass Aqua suggests it for blackwater and biotope tanks. Drawback: tannins. Aqua Rocks Colorado says mopani can release them for a long time, even after a solid soak, and Charterhouse Aquatics says it releases more than many woods in its early months.
4. Manzanita — best for long, thin branches. Buce Plant describes thin, twisting limbs with low tannins, and says it's denser and tougher than spider wood. Glass Aqua suggests it for minimalist layouts. Ghost wood is a similar option: Buce Plant sells it as a pale sandblasted driftwood that darkens when soaked, and one Aquarium Co-Op forum member says it's sandblasted manzanita or Pacific driftwood. Drawback: it's lightweight, so Buce Plant recommends soaking or boiling it, and a stone or heavy decor to hold it down.
5. Dragon wood — best for tucking in rhizome plants. Glass Aqua says Bucephalandra, Anubias and Java fern can be wedged into its openings, which may reduce the need for glue or thread. Bulk Reef Supply compares its jagged look to dragon stone. Drawback: Aquasabi calls it very light and says it sinks only partially without permanent weighting, and it warns of sharp points. Bulk Reef Supply also says it releases tannins.
Free tool
Wood is sold by length. Measure your tank first, and work out its real volume so you know what you're buying for.
Aquarium volume calculator →How to prepare driftwood
- Inspect it. Aqua Rocks Colorado says to reject anything with soft spots, a foul smell, or areas that crumble.
- Rinse and brush it. Use clean water only. LiveAquaria warns that soap or chemical residue can poison a tank.
- Test the fit. Try it in the empty tank before you commit, as Aqua Rocks Colorado suggests.
- Soak it fully under water, with something heavy on top if it floats. Change the water as it darkens.
- Boil small pieces if you want to speed things up. LiveAquaria and Buce Plant both say 1–2 hours.
- Rinse it and add it during a water change. LiveAquaria suggests removing some water first, then refilling.
How long to soak it
This is where the sources disagree most:
| Source | Soak time |
|---|---|
| Modern Aquarium | 24–48 hours for shop-bought wood |
| Real Aquatics | 48–72 hours, with no boil |
| LiveAquaria | At least 1–2 weeks |
| Glass Aqua | 1–2 weeks for smaller pieces |
| Aqua Rocks Colorado | A few days to 2–4 weeks, depending on the piece |
| Swell UK | A few weeks |
The times differ because the wood differs. LiveAquaria's test works for any piece: keep changing the water until it shows no noticeable colour for several days in a row. If you like a tinted tank, stop sooner. LiveAquaria says a short soak and scrub may be enough for a blackwater look.
If it won't sink
Glass Aqua says nearly all aquarium driftwood floats at first because it has been dried, which is at odds with Bulk Reef Supply's "sinks immediately" for Malaysian. Don't plan around either claim. Your options, if a piece stays up:
- Weigh it down. Glass Aqua suggests dense stones, usually for about two weeks. Lift the stone gently to check for movement. My own driftwood floated at first, so I anchored it with rocks for a couple of months.
- Tie it to a stone. Swell UK uses cable ties, and LiveAquaria uses fishing line.
- Glue it to a stone or slate. Aqua Rocks Colorado suggests aquarium-safe cyanoacrylate gel. Glass Aqua notes that liquid cyanoacrylate leaves visible residue.
Don't bury a floating piece under the substrate. Aqua Rocks Colorado says that can shift the hardscape and uproot plants.
Tannins and white fuzz
Brown water comes from tannins. LiveAquaria says the colour won't harm your fish, though it will lower pH slightly over time. Swell UK says the release decreases over time. To clear it faster:
- Run activated carbon in the filter, as Swell UK and LiveAquaria suggest.
- Add Seachem Purigen, which LiveAquaria and Aquasabi both mention.
- Do 10–20% water changes each week, as Real Aquatics suggests.
White or grey fuzz on new wood is usually biofilm. Real Aquatics and Aqua Rocks Colorado both call it harmless and temporary, and Swell UK says small amounts should go within a few days in a medium or large tank. Shrimp and snails will graze it, or you can brush it off.
If a brown film builds up on older wood, that's a different problem. In my Juwel Trigon 190, brown algae stuck to the rocks and wood, and I took them out of the tank to clean them. The brown algae guide covers what I did.
Which plants to put on it
Java fern, Anubias and mosses can all grow on submerged wood, says Swell UK. Mine is a Java fern on driftwood in the 90-litre tank, and the low-light plants page compares it with four other plants. LiveAquaria suggests tying them on loosely with fishing line and removing it once they've attached.
For the rest of the tank, see the low-tech planted tank guide.
What you can skip
- Wood sold for reptiles. LiveAquaria says it may contain chemicals harmful to fish, so check that it's sold for aquariums.
- Wood from outdoors. Swell UK advises against foraging unless you can identify the tree, and says wood from ponds and rivers can carry parasites.
- Bleach or chemical sterilising. Aqua Rocks Colorado says clean water, brushing, soaking and sometimes boiling are enough for aquarium wood.
- Real wood in a hard-water tank. Swell UK says it would gradually acidify the water for fish from Lake Tanganyika. If you want the look, Aqua-Fish.net says poly-resin imitations don't change pH or release tannins.
- Saltwater use. Swell UK says driftwood has a negative effect on saltwater aquariums.
Watch the sharp ends
Swell UK says spikes on wood can injure large, high-bodied, skittish or scaleless fish, and fast swimmers, and can damage eyes. Check a piece with your hand before it goes in, and snap, saw or sand down anything sharp.