New driftwood!

[em_witt]

I found a nice piece of western red cedar and I want to know if it is aquarium safe or not? It was too long for the 75gal tank only. So I had to cut 8" off the end. This will go into one of my 10gal tanks if it is aquarium safe.

 

[armymp327]

western red cedar is a softwood, so im not sure, from what ive read its mostly used in outside furniture because of its resistance to moister and rotting

 

[armymp327]

did a little more reading on cedar, it can be used but you want to be absolutely sure that it is fully dry all the way through by cutting it in half (which you've done i believe) and looking to see if it is fully dry or not. if its not then it would still have sap inside, and sap can be very harmful to your fish.

 

[em_witt]

did a little more reading on cedar, it can be used but you want to be absolutely sure that it is fully dry all the way through by cutting it in half (which you've done i believe) and looking to see if it is fully dry or not. if its not then it would still have sap inside, and sap can be very harmful to your fish.

It has been on the property for over 2yrs dead and on the ground. There is no sap so does this mean that it is safe? Very confused

 

[armymp327]

if there is no sap then yes, will probably have to tie it to something so it will sink. other then that, give it a really good scrub, and boil it if you can. i would not recommend soaking it in bleach as the wood will absorb the bleach.

 

[em_witt]

if there is no sap then yes, will probably have to tie it to something so it will sink. other then that, give it a really good scrub, and boil it if you can. i would not recommend soaking it in bleach as the wood will absorb the bleach.

Ok thanks. My dad gets 55gal metal drums for is work. I might be able to steal one and put it up on bricks over a campfire...sound good or no?

 

[Tetra1990]

It would dry it out for sure, just don't let it catch fire.

 

[em_witt]

It would dry it out for sure, just don't let it catch fire.

I was going to fill the barrel with water First to boil it.
And how many times would I have to boil it? How long?

 

[Tetra1990]

Depends on the wood. I've boiled/soaked Malaysian driftwood for 48 hours straight before and it still turned the water a tea color.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I honestly wouldn't use any type of wood that is identified as red cedar in an aquarium. Red cedar has a natural antifungal in the wood so it does not rot as quickly but also contains a natural pesticide. It doesn't sink as quickly because it doesn't absorb the water like other types. That is why it is common in porches, lawn furniture, etc. That is the difference between cedar and red cedar.

 

[armymp327]

I honestly wouldn't use any type of wood that is identified as red cedar in an aquarium. Red cedar has a natural antifungal in the wood so it does not rot as quickly but also contains a natural pesticide. It doesn't sink as quickly because it doesn't absorb the water like other types. That is why it is common in porches, lawn furniture, etc. That is the difference between cedar and red cedar.

Ah did not know that, the info I found was about cedar, I figured it would have been the same for red cedar

 

[SpilNAshlee]

If you are really that worried you can go get a can of clear AQUARIUM safe sealer and coat it 4-6 times that will take care of anything and everything in it!