Amazon Themed Aquarium Using Malaysian Driftwood

There are various themes to be applied in a fish tank. One of them is the Amazon theme. To have a dark and mysterious vibe, several ornaments could bring the vibe. The Malaysian Driftwood is definitely one of them.

It has several characteristics that are only owned by this type. What are the characteristics of the Driftwood and other ornaments to create the Amazon vibe? Here is the explanation.

Malaysian Driftwood characteristics

This Type of Driftwood mostly comes from Ebony wood. There are various Ebony species worldwide, but Malaysian Ebony has a scientific name: Diospyros Ebonasea.

Compared to fellow Ebony like African Blackwood, Malaysian Blackwood is less brittle. More than that, here are other characteristics of Malaysian Ebony driftwood.

Contain high tannins

The most distinctive characteristic of Malaysian Driftwood is its dark color. The black or brown color comes from the tannin. That is why the Driftwood often leeches tannin or discolor water gradually.

This suits the Amazon vibe, and the Driftwood has an exotic look. But if you want to remove the tannins, you need to learn how to clean driftwood properly.

Have a dense and solid texture

As mentioned before, Malaysian Ebony is more solid than other types of Blackwood. Most of this Driftwood is from the trunk part of the tree, so compared to other driftwoods, Malaysian Driftwood is more solid.

Sink easily

As they are dense and solid, this Driftwood has more mass to stay underwater faster and longer. For the new Driftwood without soaking process, it usually takes for few hours to make it sink.

Available in various textures and shapes

The natural Malaysian Driftwood has varied shapes that depend on the process it had before. Unlike other large wood such as Madrona, this Driftwood is relatively smaller. It also does not have many branches.

Malaysian Driftwood is my favorite; it is heavy, so it sinks without soaking. The tannins are not too bad and dissipate pretty quickly.

It has tunnels (depending upon the piece) ideal for catfish loaches and being very dark brown, and it looks natural in any setup. If I buy it dry, I sometimes soak it in a pail for a day or two.

3 Steps to do Before Using Malaysian Driftwood as Ornaments

Since ancient times, driftwood is one of the many ornaments that many people like to decorate their special places, such as houses, rooms, or even fish tanks.

Driftwood itself has many types, including Malaysian driftwood that has always been liked by most people who want driftwood as ornaments.

Unfortunately, getting certain driftwood that has good quality and is ready to be placed as a decoration can be quite a chore because several steps have to be passed before it can be used. So, here are some steps to prepare driftwood to be used as ornaments.

Cleaning Step

As you know, driftwood is not made.

Instead, it’s gathered from nature, so that it’s primarily possible that you have come across ones if you walked in a forest or near a river lately.

However, the driftwood that you can find around a river or in a forest is far from ready to be used as ornaments.

First of all, the driftwood is obviously dirty because it has been exposed to nature for quite some time, so that you can expect it to be covered in dirt and other messy materials that may even contain harmful matters, such as bacteria and others.

So, after you collect the driftwood from nature, the first thing to do to it is cleaning it with clean water, soap, and even a brush until it looks clean and there is no dirt anymore. This step is very important because it can make quite a difference in the value of precious driftwood, especially for Malaysian driftwood that should look clean to show its value.

Soaking Step

This soaking step is no less important than the cleaning step, and it even takes longer than the first step.

It requires the patient in this step because removing harmful substances, such as tannins, requires the soaking step for quite a long time, usually taking several days.

To make it faster and more effective, soaking driftwood, especially Malaysian driftwood, can be done with boiled water so that the leftovers, such as fungus, can be decomposed more perfectly.

Drying Step

The next and last step is the drying step.

This is, of course, necessary because the first two steps involve wetting the driftwood.

This is even a must-do step if you want to bleach the driftwood to look more exotic, especially the favored Malaysian driftwood.

Otherwise, the bleaching process will almost be useless because the water that remains on the driftwood will prevent the bleach from seeping through the driftwood

Those are the three steps in preparing driftwood for ornaments. We hope this information can help you in making the best Malaysian driftwood ornament you’re looking for.

How to style an Amazon themed aquarium

To bring out the Amazon vibe, Malaysian Driftwood only is not enough.

Look at the size of your aquarium, and you can add more ornaments and living creatures like copper beech leaves, Amazon sword plant, Cryptocoryne crispatula, and rocks.

The green plants have an essential role in the Amazon look. Combine and arrange them nicely. Then add some lighting to complete the vibe.

In summary

Malaysian Driftwood is the perfect Driftwood to create an Amazon-themed fish tank. It is because of its characteristics such as:

1. Dark color
2. Dense and solid texture
3. Easy to sink
4. Available in various sizes and shapes

Combining the Driftwood with other aquatic plants will pull out the exotic look. Some lighting, ornaments, and choice of fish will bring the Amazon vibe to the max.