Vine Driftwood?

[fishfairy]

Is all vine driftwood bad for aquariums or is it just grapevine? I just read this after I bought my driftwood of course and now I'm kind of worried because my driftwood is some type of vine root. I don't think it is grapevine, but then again I don't really know how to tell. It is a nice solid piece and I've had it soaking for a couple days so far with no problems that I can see.

Here is a link to the original thread with a picture of the driftwood:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=83031

Does anyone foresee any problems with this? I'll be really upset if I can't use it because I paid money for it and it was the perfect piece.

 

[fishfairy]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm pretty worried and I don't know what to do so I need some opinions. Thanks.

 

[joannde]

I'm sorry, I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but I can't. I would think that some vines may be toxic, so it would really help if you knew what kind of vine it was. Can you write to the eBay seller and ask ?

 

[fishfairy]

Yes I emailed him last night but I'm at work today so I'm not sure if he's answered yet or not.

I think the main concern is not really that the vine would be toxic, but that grapevine decays a lot faster than wood.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what his response is. If it is grapevine, I will give it to my brother for his iguana because it is a popular branch for reptile cages. Maybe I can go to the lake this weekend and find a good piece for free.

 

[joannde]

Free is always good LOL

 

[fishfairy]

Ok here is the response I got from the seller:

I guess that you are safe then,because it's not.This piece and all my pieces come from the vines that grow by the river and I can tell you that none of them are grapevines.Hope I eased your mind a little.

So I guess we don't know what kind of vine it is, but we have ruled out grapevine which is good at least. I guess that brings me back to the original question as to whether or not all vine wood is bad for aquariums or just grapevine? I would assume if this grows by a river, it is probably exposed to water some already. Plus it doesn't feel like a vine, but like a good solid tree limb. Maybe I can use it and keep testing the water before adding fish to make sure it isn't releasing ammonia or anything during a decay process.

 

[rich311k]

I think you will be ok. Just watch, it you will be able to tell if it is rotting and needs to be removed.