Wood

[Seanh84]

An i use wood from a river?
I want a branch piece similar to this but cant find any anywhere

 

[Nomadu571]

Aslong as its not from an evergreen or sap leaking tree. Hard woods are fine to use, just wash it thoroughly and disinfect. Take the bark off completely, and rub it down with some sand paper to give it a smooth nice look, to get the same effect as the pic. Obviously do this before washing.

 

[Seanh84]

Thanks for the reply,
How will i tell if its a sap tree? Also how do you dissinfect it?

 

[Nomadu571]

Sap in a technical term all tress have as its how they transport their food, but in terms of aquarium, the sap to worry about is the sap of trees which 'leak' sap.

Do a quick google search on the wood you find of you know what tree it comes from.
The ones i know to stay away from are pine, birch and willow.

Hardwoods are best an are identified by their broader flat leaves compared to the more pointier needles of confers or pines. Hardwood is actually 'soft' so done be confused into thinking its about durability.
Hardwoods are also normally deciduous so they should be loosing leaves at the moment (autumn).

If all else fails leave it in the garden for a few days to observe and see If any sap leaks out. Then wash and soak.

The best way to disinfect a large but of wood is in a dishwasher if you have one, run it on the highest heat but with NO soap power or cleaning agents. Or you can wash in a vinegar/water solution or bleach/water, but the safest is boiling.

 

[Seanh84]

I think i should go looking. By no cleaning agents do you mean rinse aid and salt asweel as soap

 

[Nomadu571]

No rinse aid, I don't think you can take the salt out once in or if you can it would be a nightmare, but give it a scrub under the tap/in the bath after just to take off any leftovers. If your worried even then soak it for a few days, changing water daily.

 

[Seanh84]

Cheers for your help
Just looked at your pics. Nice looking tanks

 

[Nomadu571]

Thankyou,

 

[BigJim]

Running the wood through the dishwasher with no soap is a good place to start.

 

[FastFly67]

www.manzanita-driftwood.com

 

[Seanh84]

This maybe a silly question but i dont want to cause harm in my tank, can i use roots from a hardwood tree?

 

[Nomadu571]

Not silly no, and my answer is; I wouldn't use roots. Reason being that they are the parts that take up the water for the plant but also retain some responsibility in holding glucose and other 'toxins'.

The best wood to use is that which has come from a branch or a limb, this way it will dry out leaving its 'skeleton' which is the part that is aquarium friendly. The layer under the bark called the cambium is the layer through which the food is transported, and once this has dried it is fine to use. This layer is alot thicker in evergreens and also retains alot more 'sap' after death.

The wood to stay away from is greenwood, which is the 'live' wood of the tree. The live wood had the 'sap' inside its cambium and will leak in small amounts.
Roots do not have a bark layer and use the entire structure of roots in the transportation process, which means they are full of toxins or 'sap'.

Other plants to stay away from are bamboos and grasses. Bamboo does not conform the same structure as a shrub or tree. Bamboo, being a grass, uses all of the stem in its transportation process.

 

[Seanh84]

I think i will just go to my lfs its alot easier
Thanks for the advise anyways

 

[Seanh84]

Well ive been to my lfs and found these.
For £7.50 i found these 2 pieces. They are presoaked but im going to run then through the dishwasher a couple of times anyway. Whats a good moss to start with?

 

[Nomadu571]

Nice pieces you've picked up. Good price too. The misses that I know of that like low light/ medium and grow fast are either java moss or peacock moss, both of which your better off buying online. My java moss cost me £8 for some attached to bamboo. For that you can get loads online which I should have done.