Cedar Driftwood?

[Speakerman]

I heard it may be a bad idea to use cedar driftwood in aquariums. There is a guy in town that sells mas amounts of the stuff to taxidermists around town.

I thought it may have to do with the sap in Cedar, would leach into the tank, but this Cedar has been dead for nearly 80 years, I doubt there is much sap left in it.
Does anybody know specifically the reason why it could be bad to use Cedar?

 

[HN1]

I believe it's due to the oil that creates the aroma that cedar is famous for. Not sure, but now I'm curious. Off to research, I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.

 

[HN1]

Ok, nothing absolutely definitive but there's quite a bit out there that cites the natural insecticide present in conifer woods as the reason that it may be toxic to fish. Also, I found a few reports of cedar shavings causing respiratory issues in rodents. Wow....

Then there's an old thread from here. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/cedar-driftwood-29446-2.html

Thanks for sparking my interest and getting me to learn something new!

 

[Speakerman]

well, I let a bunch of cedar wood sit in an icechest for about 30 hours, it turned the water semi-brown. I guess I'll just keep doing that until it doesn't discolor the water. Then maybe I'll cook it in the over like some people have suggested (not really sure why, maybe to kill anything living on it) then I'll soak it again. Right now the cedar floats, even after sitting for 30 hours, so it may take a while till I can try it out.

 

[gzeiger]

Boiling helps leach stuff out faster.

 

[HN1]

I still would not use cedar. I spent awhile reading and not one person had a good experience.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I used a piece of cedar that I bought off ebay for awhile. I soaked it for a couple weeks, changing the water every other day and then put it in the tank. I monitored water parameters closely at first and did alot of research before I chose that type of wood. I had it in my tank for probably a year before I took it out....didn't have any issues, I just wanted to go in a different direction for the aquascape. What I was told was to make sure its aged and looks like driftwood....and not fresh. The piece I had was not aromatic....had no smell at all...not sure if that would make a difference, but I would be hesitant to use a piece that smelled....like cedar.

 

[Venus]

I'd use the drift wood; cedar or not in the garden. It's risky business using any type of drift would in an aquarium.

 

[Venus]

I would use the driftwood in a garden or display anywhere but your aquarium; this is risky business.

 

[Speakerman]

Just to let everybody know, I've been using the Cedar driftwood in my 125g aquarium with 20g sump for about 2.5 weeks now. I don't get discolored water, no fish are sick or dead. Everything is fine.

I did however leave all the wood outside in a huge ice chest. The temperature outside was about 100 degrees every day, I changed the water every day for about 2 weeks it seems like. I leached most of the tannins out of the water. Now that it's in a much cooler aquarium, I guess the tannins like to stay where they are at heh.

Anywho, looks like Cedar is safe if precautions are taken.