bamboo canes need treated?

[Roland]

Im wanting to add bamboo canes to my tropical planted tank. Im thinking they'll look good in with the reeds. Do they need treated with anything before hand, ie to stop them degrading in the water? Can they just be put in untreated?

Cheers,

[ChilDawg]

I'm not sure how to treat them, but the plants are supposedly not good for aquaria. I don't know if dead ones are missing whatever is toxic or not...

[Tim Bo]

I have used bamboo stumps in some of my tanks a few times. Love the look of them...though I have not found a way to treat them yet. I have cut fresh (nice and green) bamboo strips, washed thoroughly and placed them in the substrate. They can last for a couple months and then begin softening up so be prepared to replace them.
By the way, they can work well as tank dividers...

[nvision]

you can first dry the bamboo, then dye with food coloring and apply a coat of water resistant varnish. let dry thoroughly.

[ChilDawg]

Why dye it with food colouring? I'm not sure as I understand...

[nvision]

bamboo turns yellow when it's dry. you might want to dye it back to it's lush green color...

[Roland]

Originally posted by nvision
you can first dry the bamboo, then dye with food coloring and apply a coat of water resistant varnish. let dry thoroughly.

I thought of using w.r. varnish, but I was worried that it would leach harmfull chemicals into the water. Then I suppose if its water resistant then it shouldnt....

Are there safe wr varnishes out there?

[ChilDawg]

I think WetmanNY advocates the use of a polyurethane varnish.

[Roland]

thanks, I'll look into it

[Tim Bo]

Me too...though the name itself (polyurethane ) makes me a little nervous for the same reasons Roland suggests. i can just see a pleco nibbling away at the varnish, polishing his teeth, stomach and the rest of the tank :)

[nvision]

ahh, but most fish feed with the sense of smell. i'm sure the pleco will stay well away from the varnish. :)