# Wood as decoration in Aquarium



## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

What started off as a question regarding difference between Driftwood & Bogwood went further to find out types of wood (& its characteristics) which can be used in an aquarium.

*Bogwood* - Wood found in peat bogs and swamps. Because bogs are very acidic, competition from other plants is nearly non-existent and peat or sphagnum grows abundantly. The wood is preserved from decay by the acidic and anaerobic bog conditions. Usually stained brown by tannins. They are the early stages in the fossilisation of wood ultimately forming lignite & coal after millions of years. Bog wood typically has been lying in and under peat bogs for hundreds of years, and individual pieces possess interesting knots and twists from changes to the wood that have occurred in these anaerobic swamps. Thus many people refer to wood having many twists and branches as bogwood which isnt actually correct. They can remain undecayed for thousands of years. Wood growing near or in bogs - Oak, Pine, Yew, Cypress & Kauri.

*Driftwood* - Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack. Most driftwood is the remains of trees, in whole or part, that have been washed into the ocean, due to flooding, high winds, or other natural occurrences, or as the result of logging. Other sources include the remains of man-made wooden objects, including buildings and their contents washed into the sea during storms, wooden objects discarded into the water from shore (flotsam), dropped dunnage or lost cargo from ships (jetsam), and the remains of shipwrecked wooden ships and boats. Driftwood is normally much lighter in color than bog wood and tends not to leach color to any great extent. Driftwood has also been exposed to erosion by water and in some cases, sandblasting by wind on isolated beaches. Driftwood therefore has more of a ribbed appearance than bog wood. Driftwood also frequently possesses numerous hollows.

For some people, Driftwood is blanket term used for both. Heres an interesting comment - Bogwood and driftwood are the same thing. The only difference is that the first term is generally used in Europe, and the second in the US.

*Mopane* - The mopane or mopani (Colophospermum mopane) tree grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, 200 to 1,150 metres (660 to 3,770 ft) in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern Africa, into South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Angola and Malawi. The tree only occurs in Africa and is the only species in genus Colophospermum. The species name mopane is taken from the local name for the tree. The mopane is in the legume family (Fabaceae). Mopane wood is one of southern Africa's heaviest timbers and is difficult to work because of its hardness. However, this also makes it termite resistant. Because of its hardness, it sinks easily and does not decay fast. Supposed to leach out more tannins than the others.

*Moorwood* - Usually red/reddish in colour. It originates from Asia and is a dead wood that is collected in the mouth of large rivers. Because of the long time it has spent in water the wood is already largely debarked and has only negligible effect on the colour of the water. It hardly has any buoyancy. Whilst smaller branches of bogwood & driftwood rot very easily, moorwood branches and twigs dont and are used in aquariums with branches/twigs/roots.

Other types of wood used in aquariums (not comprehensive though) -

*Manzanita wood *- Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. The word manzanita is the Spanish diminutive of manzana (apple). A literal translation would be little apple. The name manzanita is also sometimes used to refer to species in the related genus Arbutus, which is known by that name in the Canadian area of the tree's range, but is more usually known as madroÃƒÂ±o, or madrone in the United States. Manzanita branches are popular as decoration, due to their unique shape, color, and strength when dried. The wood is notoriously hard to cure, mostly due to cracking against the grain, giving it few uses as timber. The slow growth rate and many branchings further decrease the sizes available. The dead wood decays slowly and can last for many years, on and off the plant. Sunlight smooths and bleaches manzanita to light grey or white, rendering it superficially akin to animal bones. Because of this and the stunted growth of many species, manzanita is often collected in its more unusual shapes, giving it the nickname mountain driftwood.

*Gravevine stumps*

*Guinea* - also referred to as Rosewood

*Mangrove wood *- Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics Ã¢â‚¬â€œ mainly between latitudes 25Ã‚Â° N and 25Ã‚Â° S. About 110 species are considered "mangroves", in the sense of being a tree that grows in such a saline swamp, though only a few are from the mangrove plant genus, rhizophora. The wood of the tree has a high calorific value, meaning it produces high heat when burned, making it the wood of choice in the manufacture of charcoal in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Mangrove charcoal is one of the heaviest charcoals.

*Bonewood* - (macropteranthes leichhardtii) Bonewood or Yellow Satinheart is an understorey tree, found naturally from Bulahdelah (32Ã‚Â° S) to the McPherson Range (28Ã‚Â° S) bordering with the state of Queensland. Bonewood grows to around 7 or 8 metres high with trunks up to 300mm diameter. The wood is very heavy, very hard and splits like crazy even after it's sawn with the endgrain well sealed. While the timber machines OK, it is abrasive to your tool-steel and is difficult to sand, tending to burnish easily.

*Teak* (Tectona grandis ) and is is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the Caribbean. The word teak comes from the Malayalam (in the Malabar Coast region) word theka or tekka. Teak is a yellowish brown timber with good grains and texture and has weather resistance properties. They have reddish-green leaves with rough skin, and heartwood that is brown to dark gold in color. Teak tree resin typically has an oil in its Galih (Cambium/heartwood) that is highly water resistant. This content alone can protect the Teak from decay, insects, and bacteria. Teak wood with its antibacterial characteristics will not become brittle. Teak density is 700 - 900 kg/m3. Jati is the Indonesian name for hard teakwood.

*Winewood* - Oakwood that is used to store wine in barrels. Porous in nature.

*Marsh Root *- Althaea officinalis (Marshmallow, Marsh Mallow, or Common Marshmallow) is a species indigenous to Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant. Marsh Root Will not discolour your water or alter the pH.

*Dried apple wood *- applewood is wood from any apple tree. Apple trees are Hardwoods the wood itself is soft. Apple wood gives off a pleasant scent when burned, and smoke from an apple wood fire gives an excellent flavour to smoked foods.[7] It is easier to cut when green; dry apple wood is exceedingly difficult to carve by hand. It is a good wood for cooking fires because it burns hot and slow, without producing much flame.

*Cottonwood* - Populus deltoides is a large tree growing to 20Ã¢â‚¬â€œ40 meters (66Ã¢â‚¬â€œ130 feet) tall and with a trunk up to 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) diameter, one of the largest North American hardwood trees. The bark is silvery-white, smooth or lightly fissured when young, becoming dark gray and deeply fissured on old trees. The twigs are grayish-yellow, stout, with large triangular leaf scars. It usually grows near rivers, with mud banks left after floods providing ideal conditions for seedling germination.

There are others who have used woods such as : Cajun Wood, Savanna wood, Buffalo roots, Katanga but these are not specific varieties of wood.

Some Wood never to be used - Walnut, Pine, Redwood, Fir, Juniper, Cedar, Cherry, Plum, Yew, Jamaican dogwood or Fishfuddle etc ......... Infact, all aromatic woods should be avoided.

My personal choice is Moorwood, actually Moorwood roots .......... though it can be pretty costly, several times costlier than any other type of driftwood. I have managed to purchase secondhand, two pieces of Moorwood root for my 165 G and also got in some nice looking driftwood.


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