Natural Wood

M

MamaBarb

Still crazy after all these years
Oct 17, 2003
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Southwest Ranches, FL
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OK - after looking at some of the pictures in the pix sticky, I'm thinking I would like to trade out my resin driftwood for the real thing.

If I go out in the swamp ( I live on the edge of the Florida Everglades) and pick some up, what do I need to do to it b4 I put it in the tank? With native rock, I have boiled it for 30 minutes and let it cool, but I'm not sure that is the right thing to do with wood???

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
(If I go out in the swamp ( I live on the edge of the Florida Everglades) and pick some up, what do I need to do to it b4 I put it in the tank? With native rock, I have boiled it for 30 minutes and let it cool, but I'm not sure that is the right thing to do with wood???)

Yes you should boil the wood and then let it soak in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks, changing the water every day until the yellow color is pretty much gone. At least that is what I would do. Just to let you know your tank will still have a slight yellow color to the water but it is not harmful and it will lower the ph a little.
 
Just be careful boiling it, certain types of woods suitable for aquariums will deteriorate WAY faster after being boiled, i just soak mine in a bucked of tap water that is not dechlorinated for 2 weeks, then rinse 3-4 times and i havent had a problem, when i got my piece of driftwood it was dry, so i diddnt suppose it could have that many living things on it, bactetria and such.
 
Hmmm.....

Based on what Seaman & Snitz said - here's ano question - I am on a well and so my tap water is not chlorinated, but I could either add bleach to a bucket of water, or maybe let it soak in my pool for a while, then soak in plain water to rinse out the chlorine? I've got a 75 gal tank, which could take a pretty good sized piece of wood so I'm not sure I could boil it.

If chlorine soak is not a good idea, how about if I put it in the oven for a few hours? If I keep the temp at about 250, that should kill anything that might be living in it but is not hot enuff to ignite the wood. Whatcha y'all think?

Also - what types of wood are good? I have lots of choices - oak, pine, mahogony and even melaleuca, which is an exotic from Australia and is what they make Melafix from. It is a very soft wood tho - I imagine the harder the better?
 
:D Snitz - great link - THANKS! It answered all my questions except one. It suddenly came to me that a piece of local cypress would be great - I have a couple of cool looking pieces I picked up on airboat trips out to the camp in the 'Glades. On that site, they said not to use conifer wood tho - so I have sent them a question abt it, as cypress is a conifer, but it grows in the water here and it doesn't bother the fish so I'm confused :confused: Will post the answer when I get it. Cypress - especially the knees - can be found in some really cool shapes, and I think it would be just perfect for what I have in mind. Thx again.
 
the tress's sap is the problem. As the tree is alive it isn't poisoning the water if it were dead and open it would pose the problem they are referring to.
 
OK - here's the answer I got from the guy at the web site Snitz suggested -

"You are correct on the Cypress. It's a great looking wood and can be used
in tanks.

The conifer deal is because of the pitch that they release...long after
downed. If you boil a piece that is several years post cutting it can
still ooze the pitch from the wood. I have used lodgepole line several
times but the pieces were in excess of 40 years in the water and on the
beach."

So it looks like the Cypress will be ok.

johnnyxxl - you were also right about the sap in conifers - I guess it just doesn't apply to Cypress.

Thanks all.
 
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