Driftwood questions

[Kornchild]

I am looking at some nice driftwood on Ebay and it is red cedar, anyone know if this woudl be good for an aquarium or not? I am not certain I but I know some woods have toxins in them(redwood comes to mind) anyone know any problems with Cedar?
Thanks Aaron

 

[TankGirl]

I would personally avoid any kind of evergreen tree (pine, spruce, cedar) in a fish tank for the reason you mention. I have not tried it but it is easy enough to find good, safe driftwood, so if you have any doubts its probably best to pass on it. My favorite is swahala wood, which is dense and sinks immediately, and the soaking process took only about a week or 10 days before the majority of the tannins were out.

 

[dr.diggler]

I just did three large pieces of malaysian driftwood in my tank and they came out great. Just remember to soak them for a couple days before putting them in the tank. I also scrubbed them to reduce the chance of tinting my water

 

[Menagerie]

malaysian driftwood

Nice stuff--I have a small piece in one of my tanks. I rinsed it and threw it in. The fish don't care about tanins

 

[Bioworldmaker]

Not only the fish don't care, they may actually like it because the tanins make the water slightly acidic - that is, assuming your fish enjoys slightly acidic water

 

[madasafish]

Ever seen what happens to cedar in a fairly moist temperate forest? It begins to degrade with water around, and breaks into soft splinters. So do most coniferous trees.

I'd go with the Malaysian Driftwood. It's the safest best, and it sinks.

 

[shawmutt]

I have used African tree-root with much success.

 

[deli_conker]

I use Malaysian. No problems here.

I wouldn't use the cedar in a tank. Too much of a chance that the natural chemicals in the wood would (lol, wood would) turn your tank into a toxic tea for your fish...

 

[Fruitbat]

Most conifers have wood with greater or lesser amounts of chemicals called 'terpenes' in them (yes...this is the source of turpentine). They are NOT good choices for aquarium driftwood unless they have already been underwater for a LONG time (think in terms of years) before you use them.