Burnt wood?

Ratlova30

Ratlova30

AC Members
Apr 2, 2010
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Washington
Real Name
Chelsea
I made a trade for some misc. drift wood and hardwood to go into my aquariums. There was a piece of stump wood, which I'm primarily interested in as I wanted it for my 20gal high shrimp tank but on a couple spots on the stump it's burnt. The burn parts aren't very deep, it looks like it was just burnt enough to turn the wood black, kinda like if you were to darken wood with a blow torch. The guy said he had plans to just slice the burnt parts off which is what I was going to do but then I realize burnt wood is just a form of carbon which is what people put into their aquariums. So I'm wondering if once it's cleaned if it will be okay to to put in the tank with the couple of burnt spots. I'd rather not cut it if I don't have to cause I think it will ruin the smooth curves of the wood.
 
My test is always "does this happen in nature and if so what are the effects." Forest fires happen all the time. Burned trees fall into waterways. Never heard of fish/other aquarious creatures being harmed thereby. As you note it is just carbon.

heck I have a hickory limb that fell out of one of my front yard trees into the driveway and spent most of the winter being run over or just sitting there. It's been in the tetra-angelfish/platy tank for months now with no noticeable ill effects. You will be soaking this one for some time anyway to waterlog it, right? That should remove any chemicals it might have been exposed to which imho would be a bigger concern. Go for it. :)
 
I was just planning to soak it in watered down bleach for a day and then soaking it in ammonia remover for a day and then putting it into the tank. I usually just use rocks to hold down wood. I guess I'll soak it for a few days and maybe to a test with some cheap feeder fish before I put it in my shrimp tank. Some of the driftwood I get has a hard time getting waterlogged so I tend to not wait it out in the hopes it'll get water logged before it goes in the tank. I've had this one large driftwood piece that I pulled out of my garden and it's been submerged in many tanks for close to two years now(never been allowed to dry out) and is still very buoyant if the rocks are taken off it. Thanks for the help.
 
Just be careful when putting it in so the black parts dont rub against anything or you'll have smudges and/or clouds of black dust. I use kiln fired bamboo poles in my aquariums. Basically just a hard, porcelin like tube. Made the mistake of hitting it against the glass though and that black smear took a while to rub out. My shrimpies love it! And the water is clearer, so I'm assuming it works like the carbon in my filter.
 
I sanded mine to get the loose bits off then soaked it.
 
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