Driftwood in the reptile section

[ejaramillo01]

Thanks to all for the detailed help here!

 

[Frognugget]

Balsa is technically a hardwood, even though it is the softest common wood. But still no good for aquariums

An example of wood that will leach .toxins into your rank is cedar. It is still possible to use though. I have a nice peice of cedar in one of my tanks, took alot of prep though.

Also at least around here pet stores sell chunks of grape vine as "wood" for reptile tanks. It makes a hellova mess when you try to use it in an aquarium.

Grape vine is what we call it, don't know it's scientific name.

 

[siva]

I've been doing a lot of research on my new aquatic turtle lately, and I've read to only add wood to his tank from the petstore sold in the fish section, as the wood in the reptile section is treated with harmful chemicals and shouldn't be in water. Of course I have no clue how accurate this is..just what I've read

 

[Amicus]

At my local petco they had mopani in the reptile section. Think it's the same as the aquarium type or treated differently.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Yes, bought this piece at Petco, it was in the reptile section but mixed with mopani wood for fish tanks.

 

[Shadowraven]

What siva said above is exactly what I was afraid of. I thought that the wood there might have been treated with something to keep it from becoming a disease vector in a reptile tank. Find out more about this wood BEFORE you add it.

 

[Crepe]

Balsa is technically a hardwood, even though it is the softest common wood. But still no good for aquariums

An example of wood that will leach .toxins into your rank is cedar. It is still possible to use though. I have a nice peice of cedar in one of my tanks, took alot of prep though.

Also at least around here pet stores sell chunks of grape vine as "wood" for reptile tanks. It makes a hellova mess when you try to use it in an aquarium.

Grape vine is what we call it, don't know it's scientific name.

Most cedar is fine for aquaria as long as you just collect old branches and stumps:
Effects of Cedar diftwood on a planted tank.

Grape vine isn't the best wood for aquaria but it's still useable. Just soak it before you use it....The stuff is notorious for rotting under water but most people I've seen have had fine success with it after the initial fungusing.

 

[Shadowraven]

Most cedar is fine for aquaria as long as you just collect old branches and stumps:
Effects of Cedar diftwood on a planted tank.

Grape vine isn't the best wood for aquaria but it's still useable. Just soak it before you use it....The stuff is notorious for rotting under water but most people I've seen have had fine success with it after the initial fungusing.

I've heard (and seen) the same thing, that's why I always avoided it. It always looked terrible.

I didn't cedar would be safe since it was so resinous, or suitable since it is softwood, but I may have to rethink that. The poster there is right in the respect that if it the wood is well-soaked and leached, it should be alright to use. I'll start checking around again on some other woods too. That is an absolutely gorgeous planted tank he has there.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Just an update, I boiled the south African root wood 3 times for at least 15 minutes each. Every time after the boiling process, I let it soak in a bucket with clean cold water with PRIME added, for at least 8 hours.

After the last boil, I brushed throughly and soaked again in tap water with PRIME, and I added to the tank.

My Siamese Algae Eater loved it, same my rummynose tetras. Has been in the tank for 24 hours, I checked the water parameters and every one is fine, so far.

Hopefully nothing wrong will happen.

 

[Shadowraven]

Sounds good. It seems like you did what you should have to prepare it.

Only one question. If this is your reptile wood, did you check to see if it had been treated with any chemicals?

 

[ejaramillo01]

Sounds good. It seems like you did what you should have to prepare it.

Only one question. If this is your reptile wood, did you check to see if it had been treated with any chemicals?

I only cut it in one of the ends, trying to see if have any layer of colors, like suspicious of treatment, but was all the way the same color. Also during boiling I was trying to pic up any strange smell, but so far nothing abnormal, old normal smell of driftwood.

I did not know how to check more.

 

[Shadowraven]

Sometimes the people at the LFS will know, sometimes not. Otherwise I couldn't tell you.

It probably wasn't if it didn't feel slick or have an odor to it. Especially after you boiled it. Normally if it had something in it, during boiling you would detect a smell, or see some film on the water. I was just double-checking.

Let us know how it's going and if there is any trouble.

 

[Homedog98]

Well, this is still kind of on topic... But how would you go about boiling driftwood from saltwater, for a freshwater aquarium?

 

[DragonFish71]

I use grape vine, mopani, manzanita and malaysian DW in our tanks.

Grape vine actually takes a long time before it starts getting soft enough to rot, regardless of what is said. I have it in our shrimp tank and in our pygmy tank. The down side is that it does tend to stink.

I get most of our wood in the reptile section of the chain stores (much cheaper).

 

[Shadowraven]

Well, this is still kind of on topic... But how would you go about boiling driftwood from saltwater, for a freshwater aquarium?

From my understanding you would need to soak it longer than normal. Soak it for a few days with regular water changes to allow the salt to precipitate out of the wood. Otherwise prep for it should be the same as another other piece of wood. Boiling it longer with a couple of water changes would probably also work.

A little salt in the wood shouldn't be too harmful to your fish anyway, unless you have salt sensitive fish like corydoras.

 

[Homedog98]

From my understanding you would need to soak it longer than normal. Soak it for a few days with regular water changes to allow the salt to precipitate out of the wood. Otherwise prep for it should be the same as another other piece of wood. Boiling it longer with a couple of water changes would probably also work.

A little salt in the wood shouldn't be too harmful to your fish anyway, unless you have salt sensitive fish like corydoras.

Cool. Thanks!

 

[ejaramillo01]

Just an update.
The south African root, that I bought at Petco under the reptile section, is not affecting my water quality in the tank at all. After 36 hours in the tank, no leach of colors, no changes on pH, and no issues with my fish.

My SAE love it.

 

[Shadowraven]

Just an update.
The south African root, that I bought at Petco under the reptile section, is not affecting my water quality in the tank at all. After 36 hours in the tank, no leach of colors, no changes on pH, and no issues with my fish.

My SAE love it.

That's awesome ejaramillo. I'm glad that it has turned out so good for you!