# Safe woods?



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Hi,
I'm wondering how I can collect dry wood in my area. I live in Southern California. What woods are safe? How should I treat them? Thanks.
Manoah Marton


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

10 views and no replies?  :-?


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

Do not use conifer wood, ie: pine, spruce, redwood, cedar etc.
Most other wood is ok, some deteriorates faster than others. 
Often folks boil the wood and scrub it, to help it sink and clean it.
hth,


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Which woods have you used in your tanks?


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

The wood I have is what that I bought from the LFS (driftwood, I guess) and some I got from a household auction. :roll: 
I'm truely sorry, but I have no idea what species of tree they are from. I'd guess (and "guess" is the operative word here) that hard woods like oak and ash are ok...

There have been articles about the conifer being bad for aquarium use, so I wanted to let you know for sure about that.

I'd do some research on the web if no one offers any more advise here, so you can get some answers.

I did a quick google and here's one quote that I found:


> Wood recovered from riverbanks and waterways may possibly contain significant levels of herbicides, pesticides, salt or phosphate. Due to the porosity of wood fiber, these contaminants are soaked up and then released into the home aquarium. Do not use wood gathered from these locations if you are unsure about the inclusion of these chemicals.


Here's another:


> What to look for:
> When looking for a new piece of wood youâ€™ll want to know what you are looking for.
> You want a very hard, dense wood. Soft wood decays too quickly and is not very practical for keeping a clean tank.
> Look for unique shapes that you can set up alone or together with other pieces and plants. If you have several pieces you can lean them against each other to create more crevices and places to hide. The right layout can maximize your aquariumâ€™s visual appeal. I like to place one or two larger pieces in my tank and create the rest of the dÃ©cor around it.
> ...


hth,


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

I might try some oak.
Thanks,
Manoah


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## beaker99 (Apr 15, 2007)

Preparing driftwood for the aquarium is a time consuming process if done right. I used dead mangrove branches washed up on the beach after a storm in Fla. I rinsed and scrubed them then put them in my tank and weighed them down with rocks and filled the tank. After 2-3 days a slime coated the wood. I took the driftwood out, drained the tank, scrubed it down again and set it up in the tank again. This time however, I put about a cup of bleach in the tank to kill any pesty bug. Let it sit for about a week, or until all the bleach dissipates, then empty the tank again, scrub and rinse the driftwood and the tank really good. Then reset up your tank again and let it run for a day or two. When the slime reappears on the driftwood, and it will, get a pleco to keep it under control. You can see my pleco sucking on the driftwood 24/7. And the driftwood is sqeekie clean.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Would Eucalyptus work? We have tons of that out here.

Manoah Marton


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

Manoah Marton said:


> Would Eucalyptus work? We have tons of that out here.
> 
> Manoah Marton


Because of the oils in the wood, I would use caution. Google "eucalyptus wood in the aquarium"
or something like that and see what you find.
hth,


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