Driftwood Sap?

[pankelephant]

I bought some driftwood from ebay recently. I soaked it for a few days then decided to boil it last week. After about half an hour there was a pretty gross film of tan-colored gunk on the water. I took the wood out and stopped boiling - it's actually ruined the pot I was using because it won't come off. Research suggests it's sap. The question is - can I still use the wood?

 

[Pictuspower]

if it is sap, chances are it is also softwood. if this is the case...

NO.

You should only use hardwoods (oak, maple, ash, elm or hickory) for your aquarium. The sap and pitch in the softwoods can create a syrupy mess in your tank. Softwoods decay a LOT easier than hardwoods as well.

an easy way to tell if it's soft or hardwood is to wait for it to dry and then poke your fingernail in it. It is squishes it's softwood and that means you need to go find another piece.


It 'could' just be tannins. Someone with more knowledge should reply, I'm just using knowledge that I know off the top of my head. From your statement about it ruining the pot though it sounds like its sap, not just tannins.

 

[pankelephant]

Ah well, that sucks. The fingernail test tells me it's soft wood. They were really pretty pieces too.

Am I correct that bogwood is the type most likely to sink immediately? Or is that malaysian? Or both?

Thanks!

 

[dragonfisher33]

do you have a picture? i just went through this recently and maybe i can offer some help

 

[dragonfisher33]

Ah well, that sucks. The fingernail test tells me it's soft wood. They were really pretty pieces too.

Am I correct that bogwood is the type most likely to sink immediately? Or is that malaysian? Or both?

Thanks!

bogwood takes some time to sink even with boiling. Malaysian sinks almost immediately but you should boil it first.