Wood in tank?

fishaddict52

Hi Ok found this wood along the creek bank lit is dry and kinda cracked.If i boil it 1 hr and soak it in change water or a week can i put in my new 10G tank .(coming in 2-3week's) Want it to be planted with Java plant's.It would be superfor tying plant's to.Welcome all input.

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fishaddict52

Got fish for new 5g to help cycle it.Hate that but need it ASAP got fry coming. Put used filter meida out of 29gal cycled tank. 6 fedder platyes.

Byron

If that wood is completely dry--and by this I mean there is no sap in it due to it having been "dead" for a long time--it might be safe. There is always a risk with wood you find, since you don't know what toxins it might have come into contact with at some point (oil, pesticides, other chemicals), and having absorbed such liquids they might dry and leech out over time. Boiling will not necessarily remove these.

For a 10g,you could probably find a nice piece of Malaysian Driftwood which is not that expensive in Petsmart and some other stores. I like this wood because it is dark brown, heavy so it sinks immediately, and is not bad for tannins.

Byron.

Olympia

I'm curious, with gathered dry driftwood like this- is there any way to tell if it is hardwood or softwood? Or by this point does it usually not matter anymore?

Byron

It matters. Using a soft wood means more risk of toxins, plus it rots very quickly submerged. As for telling them apart, I'm not expert enough to do this myself, but I would not risk wood from outside anyway, I tried this once back in the 1980's with poor results.

Byron.

fishaddict52

Yes You have a very good point.It been dead a long time.and it did come from the creek at the down stream side of town.Thank's all advice welcome.