Driftwood: The e-bay trap?

[sudz]

hey all! i'm looking on E-bay for wood, and i really just plain don't trust anything i see. One looks like its rotting away!, and yet it says its for an aquarium! I really want a piece of darker colored drift wood for my tank!

Can anyone point me to some sources of this, that isn't 300+ dollars? (i was totally shocked... they wanted 399 for a piece of driftwood... thats more than my total new setup has cost me!

I've read the "preparing driftwood" topic, and im thinking i'm going to go up to my cottage, get a piece of driftwood cedar (easy to find up there) Power wash it delicately, then boil it for 6 hours. Leave it out to dry, then boil it again for 4 hours... then put it in some old tank water from a waterchange for a few days. Think that'll cut it?

Anyway, i'm looking for a CENTERPiece... if anyone actually has one thats about... oh less than 20 inches in general size more than 12 and is willing to sell it, give em my e-mail (sudnikowicz(at)hotmail(dot)com

What are your thoughts about me buying from e-bay for driftwood?

 

[Toirtis]

Great place to buy, although the shipping can be murder. Malaysian bogwoods are best, but heavy. I am very wary of cedar because of the toxic volatile oils in it, but if it is not too thick and has been aged/weathered for a good long time prior to prep for tank-use, it should be fine, although it may take quite some time to sink.

 

[sudz]

How long would it have to "age" to become safe for fish? i'd more than likely find it barkless and bleached washed up at shore. Its quite light colored. Bogwoods, you say? what would be a good precaution with that if i bought it off e-bay? Boil for a bit then its ready to go?

 

[Toirtis]

How long would it have to "age" to become safe for fish? i'd more than likely find it barkless and bleached washed up at shore. Its quite light colored.

Sounds good...probably a good year old at that point....air, water, and sun exposure will have worked their magic at that point.

Bogwoods, you say? what would be a good precaution with that if i bought it off e-bay? Boil for a bit then its ready to go?

Yes...most are ready to go for an aquarium, but boiling makes them more safe if they have previously been in an aquarium....and if new, will help waterlog them and remove some of the tannins.

 

[sudz]

Thanks! I'm going to browse right now
I'll post anything i find on here, maybe you can give it the thumbs up?

THanks for the ub3r quick replies too!

 

[Xzap]

Back in the Summer I was planning out a new tank with a beautiful piece of cedar sudz but ended up not using it. I did a lot of thorough research; you might wanna read thru this thread about cedar wood in a fish tank.

Click here

Thx,

Dave

 

[sudz]

Well. We can't have that. Bogwood it is. Thanks for the info!

 

[Guest]

I made the mistake of using a big cedar root when first setting up a tank and within a week all the water in the tank looked like tea it was so dark. Couldn't even see the back of the tank. Didn't seem to harm the fish at all but just couldn't see in the tank. HTH

 

[Toirtis]

On a small piece of wood that had been exposed to air and water (and sun) for a good year, very little volatile oil would remain, even in the deepest interior....and any that later escaped would be so small and slow as to have zero effect (assuming one did water changes every week or so)....the real concern here would be with larger pieces of wood (over 2" thick). However, if you are still wary, do not risk it. As for what lemonheadmech saw in his tank, it would have been tannins, not cedar oils, which would have been quite different (and would have killed the fish, if they had been an any appreciable quantity).

 

[sudz]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7719410254&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

Sorry for the long link, but how does that look? I'm worried A bit about the rock. Some people in the IRC channel said i should investitgate. I'll just drill/pry it out and sand the hole smooth, me thinks.

Could you take a stab at what kind of wood this is? looks beautiful though! Imagine that as my centerpiece!

 

[Toirtis]

Really nice piece of wood (probably ugly shipping cost, though)....the rock is likely safe, but removing it would make sure of that.

 

[sudz]

I've bid on the wood. Its 31 US shipping to get to me. I've sent a message to the auctioner offering to buy it right now for 40 US plus 30 shipping. Its really cool! I want it!

*getting obsessive*

lol, I should boil it when i get it, correct?

 

[gfink]

Try this site:
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/subcat.asp?0=200

and this site:

http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm

 

[Toirtis]

Boiling would be a good idea, yes.

 

[sudz]

Try this site:
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/subcat.asp?0=200

and this site:

http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm

The problem with aquariumdriftwood.com is that you don't get to see the actual piece you are going to get.

Flordia Driftwood.com is Ub3r expensive. pieces i LIKED were well over 150 bucks. :'(

If you look at an earlier post, i linked to an e-bay page... I'm hopefully going to win that one! i've sent him an e-mail asking if he'd end the auction for a lucritive amount of money (well... not exactly ALOT of money, lol) We'll see if he takes it. 31 dollars US for shipping to me though :S But its so pretty!
it'll be nice when a bit of organic matter starts growing on it! Jchillin was imagining all the javafern he'd put on a piece like that at chat the other night. Yay for IRC!

-= Dutifully promotes sunday chat sessions at #aquariumadvice =-

 

[Zezmo]

The piece in the E-bay link does not look like driftwood. I would guess it is some kind of rootwood. Maybe Grapevine. The fact that it has some kind of rock embeded in it also makes me think it is root wood. If you do get it, don't forget to test that bit of rock for compatability (eg vinegar test). And if it really is silver metal, I would not even put it in there.
The advantage of real driftwood is it is already cured and has the majority of the tannins leached out. That piece from the link would most likely need to be cured by you.

 

[fish_4_all]

Well, I don't know but it sure looks petrified to me. If it isn't, I would say it almost certainly a hardwood, cherry or similar. I don't think the rock imbedded in it should be a worry. It also doesn't look like one piece of wood. My only worry would be is it petrified. I would ask the seller if they can drill it or scratch off bits with a screwdriver or something. It just seems really odd that a seller wouldn't be able to tell the difference between wood and petrified wood.

If you get all the answers you need I think it would be an awesome centerpiece!

 

[Toirtis]

The piece in the E-bay link does not look like driftwood. I would guess it is some kind of rootwood. Maybe Grapevine. The fact that it has some kind of rock embeded in it also makes me think it is root wood.

Oh, almost definitely a rootwood of some sort (which can be driftwood too...any wood can potentially be driftwood, almost)....but unlikely grapevine, as grapevine tends to be lighter, and the seller is suggesting that this stuff is heavy enough to seem similar to petrified wood.

 

[Zezmo]

Good Point, Grapewood is light so probably not that. Petrified wood, is not wood, it is a rock whose minerals replaced the tree over millions of years. If you have petrified wood you know it.. becuase it is a rock not wood.

 

[sudz]

Regardless though, it should be ok for my tank? right?