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Driftwood


SuperGuppyGirl
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Anyone know of a list of safe wood for aquariums? I keep seeing tons of gorgeous pieces on the banks of the north sask river but the age old of should I or shouldn't I runs through my head.

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"Hardwoods" are the best, tho stuff like poplar will rot faster than, say, birch. Stay away from coniferous wood, as it will leach some nasty stuff into the water.

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If its been in the water for a while, it could be OK - test it in a tank with some fish that won't crush you if they perish

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I only use hardwood (was warned off of softwood and never looked back), but make sure you cure the driftwood before putting into a tank. This will help remove fungus, parasites, etc... Depending on the size, theres a few ways to go about it. I've cured 5 different pieces already (3 small so I could boil, 2 a little larger that took a little more work). Always best to presure wash it first then I found that boiling works best - but you need a cauldron/pot large enough to submerge it, and left to boil for 20 minutes (that's the water boiling the whole 20 minutes) For larger pieces it gets more complicated. What I did with my 2 larger pieces is had someone (my wife - big big trust here) pour the boiling water over the driftwood while I scrubbed it with a wire brush, did this about 5 or 6 times over the whole chunk of driftwood. Then they were ready for my tank.

Now there's one step I left out at the beginning ... as it really depends on a persons preference, as it concerns TANNIS (what gives water that tea colour in some tanks). I've 3 tanks with driftwood, one has no tannis, one has light tannis and one has heavy tannis. (I was experimenting and learning). The larger the chunk, the more chance of tannis. Soaking the driftwood for some time submerged will help leach the tannis out, if using a tub/basin then you'll have to change the water every 2-3 days. But if you have access, throw it into a pond, lake, river; weighted down as the current will help remove said tannis. But bigger the chunk, the longer it'll take. Sorry if this is info overload, but I hope it helps. I got most of this info off the web from a couple of different sites when I started playing with driftwood.

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  • 1 month later...

Good info on tannis....

The other option could be getting hardwood in small pieces and playing it like lego. The turn out will be beautiful as well ... justboption or something to keep in mind... I have smaller driftwood but have a few of them.... pile them up at the back and it will create loops or hiding spots for your beloving pets to play and hide.

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Well took a recent trip to the Yukon, and pulled 2 beautiful pieces from Watson Lake I have to knock a chunk of metal out of one but both are curing nicely in the in laws garage as I forgot them D'oh

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  • 6 months later...

Shouldn't be a shortage of driftwood this year along the riverbanks considering the floods last year. I agree with ckmullin old and dead wood should be mostly free of compounds such as terpenes and phenols found in evergreen species. A lot of the more expensive gnarled pieces at the lfs are root balls and not trunk and branches. I really like the look of roots as compared to branches because of the more irregular shape. Old wood and roots will not have bark attached, if the bark is there or doesn't peel off easily the piece is probably too green. If it's grey you're good if it's brown put it down!

Edited by Frogfish
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