DIY Driftwood - species of wood matter?

[jsoong]

I am too cheap to pay $50-100 at the lfs for driftwood, considering that I can get some for free at the river.

My question is - any particular kind of wood to get? I have a crabapple tree with a dead branch - if I remove the bark, waterlog / boil it, will it be OK? Or would a piece of spruce/pine from the river be OK?

TIA

[fish_doc]

Different wood will decay at different rates. In addition to that they will leach into your water even after boiling them. During this process your pH will drop.

By picking up stray wood you dont know how much of a effect this will have on all aspects of your tank. pH, Water clarity, and possible chemicals from any sprays or fertilizers used in the area of the growing tree.

But if you are intent on using a stray branch. In addition to boiling it you will want to bleach it to kill any bacteria and critters that may be crawling around inside. Rinse well and sun dry.

[Endgame319]

What river is this? The North Saskatchewan?

[madasafish]

Vendors usually sell Malaysian and Swahala driftwood for 2 reasons. 1) They sink (if not immediately, eventually). 2) They are fairly non-reactive. Though they do reduce pH, they usually do not flake off and cause big problems.

If you're stressed by the price of the stuff at the LFS, check out ebay. There are some nice pieces on there for less than you'd be paying locally.

I'd be a bit wary of using driftwood that you've collected in your tank. You never know what chemicals have leached into it, and what organisms are living in it. I know boiling will no some good, but I prefer peace of mind!

[Hypostomus]

A lot of the driftwood I have seen on Ebay is simply collected locally, cleaned, and sold... I don't see a real difference between the safety of it compared to stuff you collect and clean yourself.

[jsoong]

Originally Posted by Endgame319

What river is this? The North Saskatchewan?

Actually, no. That is too polluted IMO.

My inlaws in BC interior has a creek on their property (this eventually flows into the Granby then into the Columbia, but at their property the river had not flow past any city or town yet, so I figure that it would be pretty clean.) Every spring there is tons of drift wood so I think I'll collect there. I'll prob collect some rocks there too.