Driftwood questions?

[angel4335]

Went to petsmart today set on finally finding some driftwood for my tanks. been meaning to do it for ages!

The only driftwood they had was a few pieces that were in the tanks, which used to have plants attached but no longer do so they were pretty cheap. and the pieces in the reptile section, The lady working in the fish department said they were safe for aquariums, said she used them in her tanks, but she then said just about any wood can be used in your tanks as long as you soak it first. so yeah, dunno about that. but i got a piece anyway cuz it looked cool Figure if i can't use it in my tank i can use it somewhere else. It doesn't say what kind of wood it is, its made by All Living Things, anyone heard of them or tried these? It says its heat treated and safe for any terrarium or cage.


I also got 2 smaller pieces from the tanks, i'm not sure how i should clean these? When buying plants i usually rinse them in tap water, would that be sufficient for these? or should they be soaked/boiled? theres no sign of plants left on them, except one appears to have some cotton or something stuffed into one of the holes, im guessing thats where the plant was attached?

Thanks.

 

[torres]

wash it only with water, give one or two boils to see if anything will come out from it.

 

[jcolon]

My Petsmart is pretty weak when it comes to DW. They seem to have more geared for terrariums than aquariums. Petco's i've seem to have a slightly better DW selection.

 

[Talvari]

Dont use the stuff from All Living Things thats on the shelves... its meant for reptiles and reptiles only. It *will* fall apart and rot in the aquarium. Most Petsmarts carry mopani wood... Thats a much safer choice for an aquarium.

Any of the wood pieces *in* the aquariums are safe...I have a few in my big tank and never had an issue with them. Just make sure you clean them well just in case.

 

[randy86]

I have heard thwarting you can go.to.the local lake and get drift wood and put it through a bleach and animosity pracess and the. Cook it in the oven at 250 for 30 minutes. Now having said that I have tried it before and it happened to work great but give. If I had the oppertunity to buy it in a situation where it was .meant for an aquarium I probably would do that before going to.the local lake. Just food for thought!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You can definitely collect some wood if you have woodlands around you. Hardwood is best (lasts longer). You want dead, dry wood. Nothing green or rotting. Avoid evergreens because of the sap. Put it through the dish washer (no soap!) a couple of times or boil it to kill any bugs. Give it a good scrub (I found steel wool to work well) to get loose bark off.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

While I don't recall brand names, I have used "reptile" wood in my aquarium. Had to boil it several times to get the excessive tannins out and get it fully waterlogged. But even then, I still had to attach at least one side of it to a small piece of slate to keep in at the bottom of the tank. It wouldn't actually "float" to the surface. But it was neutrally buoyant. So even the smallest bump would easily dislocate it.

Bottom line, it was initially more work than wood specifically sold for fish tanks. But in the end, I liked the character of this particular piece of wood that it was worth it.

As for Talvari's statement about it falling apart... the smaller thin pieces did soften to the point I had to pull them off after a few years. But I've had mine for about three years now and the heart of it is still just as good as when I got it.

The only thing I've hated (and this has been the case with "reptile" wood and "fish tank" wood) is that the MTS EAT the stuff. (So I don't know to what extent the little bit of disintegration I encountered was because of just being in the water or because of the MTS).

 

[Shark_Bait]

I bought mine from Manzanita-driftwood.com. He is a member here under the name PC1. Nice guy and his options on DW are great!!! Prices are better than ive seen as well.

 

[angel4335]

So is the biggest argument against using 'reptile' wood in the aquarium that it will fall apart? or would it cause a water quality issue as well? the biggest reason i wanted some driftwood was for our plecos, so if they or the snails eat at it and it falls apart and eventually needs to be replaced it wouldnt be a big deal unless its going to cause problems for the fish.

 

[ejaramillo01]

So is the biggest argument against using 'reptile' wood in the aquarium that it will fall apart? or would it cause a water quality issue as well? the biggest reason i wanted some driftwood was for our plecos, so if they or the snails eat at it and it falls apart and eventually needs to be replaced it wouldnt be a big deal unless its going to cause problems for the fish.

Agree, I had a piece of driftwood in my tank from Petco (reptile section) since mid 2010, and still is looking good.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

So is the biggest argument against using 'reptile' wood in the aquarium that it will fall apart? or would it cause a water quality issue as well? the biggest reason i wanted some driftwood was for our plecos, so if they or the snails eat at it and it falls apart and eventually needs to be replaced it wouldnt be a big deal unless its going to cause problems for the fish.

So long as you follow instructions such as those Mumma.of.two has given above, driftwood isn't going to harm your water quality.

First of all, in terms of the wood "falling apart", its not like it is paper where in a week the stuff is going to disintegrate. The process of driftwood "falling apart" can take years. The process will work quicker on thin pieces of wood, so within a few months, thin sticks or spikes of the wood can become soft enough to easily pull off. But anything with some thickness is going to take a long time disintegrate.

Otherwise, the wood is only going to leach tannins and bits of wood into the water. The bits of wood will wither be big enough to pick our, or small enough to be eliminated by filters and water changes. Tannins are generally good for your fish. As I understand it, it sort of acts like an antiseptic that is harmless to your fish.

 

[Slade]

Petco has two types of wood in the reptile section. Stay away from "grape wood" - the vines from growing grapes, in the aquarium, this will rot.
The other kind is a hardwood mopani or manzanita, which is fine to use as long as you soak it as mentioned in earlier posts.

 

[Jess1ca]

My husband also bought a piece of wood from Petsmart labeled all living things. I'm very hesitant to put it in my tank :/ its super pretty, I soaked it for 2 days and have poured boiling water over top of it twice as it is too big to boil in a pot. I really want to put it in my tank but at the same time scared to death!

 

[Jess1ca]

I also carefully picked of all the soft "bark" I'm also conceded because one end has gotten a bit... Idk, slimy?

 

[Jess1ca]

Concerned*

 

[ejaramillo01]

I also carefully picked of all the soft "bark" I'm also conceded because one end has gotten a bit... Idk, slimy?

I would trust more the Petco one, properly boiled, than the slimy bark....

 

[angel4335]

I did see some large log looking pieces at the store labeled grape wood, and i remembered those weren't good, but this one only says driftwood. ive looked at different pictures of types of driftwood and i cant tell what kind it might be. i can post some pics here maybe you guys can? same piece different angles. i've not done anything with it yet

http://i.imgur.com/DidSm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mdhRd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2vmaI.jpg

 

[angel4335]

Also, some people have talked about using slate to weigh down driftwood, wheres the best place to get some?

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Also, some people have talked about using slate to weigh down driftwood, wheres the best place to get some?

I've used 12x12 slate tiles from menards. They cost under $2, and you can bust them up to the size you need

 

[Jess1ca]

I did see some large log looking pieces at the store labeled grape wood, and i remembered those weren't good, but this one only says driftwood. ive looked at different pictures of types of driftwood and i cant tell what kind it might be. i can post some pics here maybe you guys can? same piece different angles. i've not done anything with it yet

http://i.imgur.com/DidSm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mdhRd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2vmaI.jpg

Oh ours is somewhat different! Here are a few shots of mine, it was boiled twice and soaked for 3 days.