Is wood found in my garden safe for my tank?

[Mr.Albiman]

Loads of you guys have driftwood in your tanks and I have a massive gap on the right side of my fish tank - where I was thinking of putting some driftwood (I heard my Hillstreams might like it [Pseudogastromyzon cheni]). The problem is that driftwood is so expensive!
So I was wondering if I was able to just use the branches from trees that are in my garden? If yes, then how do I prepare it for my tank?

Thanks a bunch guys!

 

[LogansMomma]

The driftwood I have in my tank was too large to bake so I sun baked it for about two weeks. But I've heard if u can fit it in your oven just bake it to kill whatever is inside at a lower degree. I'd say 170°f. Then I scrubbed the heck out of it with water and sos pads to remove the remaining bark.

 

[LogansMomma]

And I would suggest some large plants And a background too. maybe some natural rock.

 

[LogansMomma]

Natural wood is great for ur tank by the way

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Great news!
So basically, I get the wood I want, strip off as much bark as possible, bake it in the oven at 170°F and scrub it to get rid of the rest of the bark?

What about tannin? Does the oven-baking stop it leaking tannin into my tank water? Or should I boil it in a pan for a few hours afterwards to make sure?

 

[jetajockey]

You really should go with a hardwood that is dead, organics can foul up your water. Boiling it will help release some tannins but it might not get all of them.

Your best bet is to get some actual driftwood from the water, or just fork out some money for the real deal. Smaller pieces aren't that expensive, but it's not as much of an adventure either.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Natural wood is great for ur tank by the way

In what way is it beneficial? Just curious.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

You really should go with a hardwood that is dead, organics can foul up your water. Boiling it will help release some tannins but it might not get all of them.

Your best bet is to get some actual driftwood from the water, or just fork out some money for the real deal. Smaller pieces aren't that expensive, but it's not as much of an adventure either.

The tree that I'd get the wood from is dead, if that makes a difference? How do I tell the difference between hardwood and softwood?

 

[jetajockey]

Well the definition is botanical but the general description suits its purpose here. Hardwoods like oak, ash, cypress all hold up pretty well submerged. Be sure to strip any bark off of the piece and scrub it down really well.

There are some exceptions also, like cypress for instance. Cypress is considered a softwood (botanical definition) but it makes a good driftwood specimen, and some people like to use the rootwood for biotope tanks since there are cypress swamps all over this region.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Okay thanks.

How long do you suggest I bake it for? Or is there a quicker way? And how long should I boil it for afterwards?

 

[jetajockey]

Everyone has their methods, I prefer leaving it in the sun for a season, but boiling it for 30 minutes or so should probably do the trick as far as killing pathogens. I usually suggest that for driftwood found in the water, but I guess it wouldn't hurt, plus it'll help it sink faster. Also I've heard that cedar isn't good to use, but I'm not sure.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

So will boiling for about an hour get rid of most nasties (bacteria and tannins)?
Will boiling it also make it sink? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to spend hours baking/boiling if its not needed.

 

[jetajockey]

The tannin thing might be a problem for weeks or months, even if you do boil it first. Thats another reason I prefer getting submerged driftwood since the tannins are long gone.
Boiling helps release the tannins but it usually doesn't get them all, it also helps some pieces sink.

You should boil it to sterilize it anyhow, so it's a good practice.
I try to pick pieces that feel very dense, they usually sink better. You can always drill the driftwood to some slate if you need help to sink it, though.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Right, thank you. So I'll boil it for an hour or so, then scrub off all the bark and put it in my tank. If it gives off tannins into my tank still, will it harm the fish? And will it clear up eventually?

 

[jetajockey]

Nope, tannins are actually part of many fishes wild environment. Come to think of it, most places that I have sampled fish from are in tannin stained waters. It makes the water more acidic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on what you are stocking. Some people even add things like alder cones, almond leaves, oak leaf litter, etc to help bring about breeding conditions for certain fish.

The keyword there is 'eventually', there's no telling how long it'll leach.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Okay then, I don't mind the look of tannins too much so I don't mind waiting a while for it to clear up.

I have a Black Moor Goldfish, a Hillstream Loach and a Nerite Snail. Do they mind a raised pH? I don't have anything to test the pH of my water right now though :/

 

[jetajockey]

Tannins lower the pH, and no it probably won't hurt anything for those species.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Whoops, my bad
Thank you for all your help! I'll get on that tomorrow.

 

[Minnesota-koi]

Just to jump in on the side of not buying wood. I got a sweet piece of oak out of the woods and boiled it for 3 hours in the oven. The only problem is that it took three weeks with a rock on top of it until it wanted to stay down. But my fish seem to like it especially my pleco and it looks real nice.

 

[PC1]

You really should go with a hardwood that is dead, organics can foul up your water. Boiling it will help release some tannins but it might not get all of them.

Your best bet is to get some actual driftwood from the water, or just fork out some money for the real deal. Smaller pieces aren't that expensive, but it's not as much of an adventure either.

This is great advice. If its not dead and dry you can run into major problems. Softwoods tend to rot quickly as well.