collecting local driftwood

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attiladahun

AC Members
Mar 11, 2005
95
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iv'e heard a bunch of people say that buying driftwood is just silly and that looking around local lakes and streams will yield decent wood for a tank.

about that- is there any risk of introducing chemicals, diseases, or other things you don't want in your tank? my local streams are kind of muddy and probably tainted with chemicals, any fish from them would probably glow.

i would appreciate any input on this
 

Genral72

Giver of worthless imformation.
Oct 15, 2005
319
0
0
Pittsburgh
Yes there is a risk involved. However you can reduce that risk to very little if you follow these steps.

If you think that a stream is contaminated don't get wood from there. I personally get my wood from the local woods.

Make sure you boil the wood for 20 minutes dump water boil for 20 minutes dump water. repeat until water no longer turns brown.

Scrub the log profusely before putting it in the aquarium

Don't get anything that is rotting. Also I have heard that softwoods(pines, spruces, ect.) are not good. Certain kinds of wood are better than others. You can tell by walking through the woods. For example mabye on type of tree's wood rots faster. I wouldn't get it. Or if trees around you are infected by the ash borer. Don't get ash.

Remember if you have any doubt about a piece of wood don't get it.
 

YuccaPatrol

Over-filtered
Oct 17, 2004
459
0
0
I have collected all of my own driftwood with great success.

It takes some patience because you must be willing to toss away 90% of the stuff that initially looks good. You are looking for wood that shows signs of being under water for quite some time.

I collect my best wood in and around a stream that runs through a HARDWOOD forest.. I look in the debris piles of wood that have accumulated from previous flooding events. The best wood that I find is dark grey, heavy for its size, and is very hard despite the fact that it is very worn.

You can't necessarily assume that a piece of wood of unknown origin for sale in a store has not been collected from a contaminated area. However, boiling and soaking will definitely help to remove anything questionable from the wood.
 

Lobo.

sheep in wolf's clothing
Feb 24, 2005
690
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35
Nashville
if your worried about chemicals in the wood, then soaking it in water for a long period of time (like a month) while replacing the water frequently (the more often the better) would help with that as most anything will dissolve in water, including most pesticides and herbicides.

to avoid chemicals, dont collect wood downstream from farms or cities (or neighbors who use too many yard chemicals), especially cowfarms (cowpee) or crops (herbicides and pesticides)
 

attiladahun

AC Members
Mar 11, 2005
95
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the only bodies of water around me are a creek and its tributaries, which run all throughout the county, collecting runoff from just about anything in the county. also, there is the county reservoir, which said creek runs into and i wouldn't trust anyway.

any suggestions for good driftwood spots in north-central indiana?
 

Genral72

Giver of worthless imformation.
Oct 15, 2005
319
0
0
Pittsburgh
As stated before you don't have to get driftwood from streams or lakes. You can get it from a local wood. It just might take longer to soak it.
 

msouth468

Fighting for the little guy
Nov 29, 2005
580
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16
41
Iowa
couchpotatodx.proboards66.com
Smaller rivers are really good places to find driftwood. Stay away from larger rivers (missour, mississippi) as they have pretty high pollution. Creeks tend to have wood that is "freasher" than rivers. Rivers produce more driftwood that is aged very well and easier to clean.

And as everyone else stated, boil and all that stuff.
 

DeRo316

Keeper of Cichlids
Nov 23, 2005
709
0
0
Tallahassee, FL.
I found a great piece of oak on a local plantation, I took it home, modified it a bit and soaked it in a garbage can/wheelbarrow for a month or so. Its about 3 feet long so too big to boil or bake. It sank fine and I havnt had any problems. My CAE's and gold nugget are on it 24/7(except zucchini time)
 
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