lily pads

Question
      I was woundering, can you put lily pads from a river or lake in a feshwater aquarium? They are a freshwater plant so I thought that it would be all right. Is this posslble.
      I have two large radican swords and the leaves arn't as green as they sould be. I thought I needed a macronutrient fetilizer like potassium and calcium. Some of the leaves are are just a hint yellow and there is a brown hole in one. Is potassium and calicum what i need?
      How do you treat driftwood? I boiled it and let is sit for a few days. Is there anything else I need to do?
Thanks  

Answer
The lily pads that you find in U.S. lakes are too large for most aquariums. Not only that, but you cannot legally collect them from the wild. They may be purchased, but are exlpensive. You can also obtain Dwarf Lilies and Lotus plants from many retailers. Both can be purchased as a bulb or an established plant. Their "pads" range between 1-6 inches in diameter. They'll grow to any tank height. As far as care is concerned, they both prefer soft and slightly acidic water, with minimum 3watts per gallon florescent lighting. Both will benefit from iron supplementation in the substrate, you can purchase supplements or Flourite gravel for iron supplementation. Liquid supplementations are helpful, but the plant must take up iron from its roots.

Based on your description of the swords, it sounds like the leaves are showing "sclerotic" tissues. This is caused by a deficiency in iron. Like the dwarf lilies, swords take up iron through their roots. You can purchase products that allow you to tuck fertilzer under plants, but be careful to select one that supplements iron. You can also liquid supplementaion, but this will not be as helpful...although other plants in your tank might be able to benefit more.
Driftwood that you buy in a store has already be disinfected (likly boiled), and is ready for use right away. The natural driftwood will float (if its not fastened to a rock) until it becomes waterlogged, this can take up to a few weeks. You can also soak it in a bucket for a few days before putting it into the tank. Submerge it underwater with a rock for best results (if the bucket isn't too small). There are other types of driftwood, such as Malaysian driftwood or African rootwood that are dense enough that they will sink without soaking. They are becoming more popular these days. All driftwoods with leach tannins (tanic acid) into the water discoloring it slightly brown/yellow, this will decrease the pH slightly. The tannins will not lower the pH to dangerous levels, they are not harmful to fish.
Hope this helps,
Good luck!