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October 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| driftwood?
Can i get drift wood from a local pond/river?
There is some at my LFS for £15, but i don't want to spend that much on some wood i might be able to find near my back garden  
Jack | 
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Do you know what kind of wood it is? Evergreens don't do well in aquariums. They have toxins that can kill fish and will kill inverts.
Other than that, the big concern is adding contaminants to your aquarium. If you sterilize the piece, and scrub it really well, and if the waterway is really clean, you should be okay, but there's always some risk. | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| i might reconsider doing it on the cheep then.. i really don't trust myself with something like that
thanks for the help sirdarksol  | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| No problem.
I've always had the same issue with DIY driftwood. I've found some really neat pieces, but I've always worried that I'll not clean it enough or that the river I'm getting it from will be pretty polluted. | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| one more thing, if i did find some that i was pretty sure is safe, how would i clean it for toxins?
Jack | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| A few possibilities.
If you've got a pot large enough, boil the heck out of it.
Or, get a big tub of water, put some bleach in it, and let the thing sit for days. Then change the bleach water out for clean water and dechlorinate it.
Or, scrub under running water and then bake in an oven at 300 degrees (F) or so for an hour or more (watch to make sure it doesn't combust. It shouldn't at 300, but a faulty thermostat in the oven could cause a problem). | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| thanks sirdarksol i might have a look for some tomorrow | |
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October 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| as was advised above, you have to be very careful with what woods you use.
I have been lucky to live by the ocean and found some great driftwood there. I have used a lot of it in all my tanks with no problem. I left it out in the rain, I have rinsed over and over in a clean bucket of water and I have boiled and also scrubbed. I made sure that the woods I had were really driftwood with no bark on it left, truly deadwood. All my fish are fine and Ive had no problems with using my local driftwood.
But it may be different with using woods from ponds and rivers tho. | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| i have been out this morning and found some wood it looks quite good. have already bleeched it and is in the oven as we speak :P will try to post some pics when it is done and hopefully someone with more experience can tell me if it is safe
Jack | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| pics done... need a bit of help because i want to be 100% sure it is safe...this is after it has been scrubbed with bleech and in the oven for an hour. | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| After it came out of the oven, was there any resin on the outside at all? What you're looking for is pine sap or something like it. If there is any, think very carefully before you put it in.
That looks like it's something other than pine, but I'm far from an expert in identifying driftwood.
As said above, pine (and other evergreens) contain toxic sap. It's a mild issue for humans, but in a closed system like an aquarium, it can be really harmful, especially to inverts. | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| great looking wood! Looks nice and clean..  If you are not sure of the wood, just think about where you found it and look around at the tree's in the area.. and then you should have a pretty good guess. With the nubs on the wood it almost reminds me of an every green of some sort. But not positive either, its hard to tell.
But it looks pretty nice... and clean and doesnt look like its going to leach anything out. I'd like to see a photo of the ends tho, there you can have a good eye unto what type of wood it may be.
Is the wood soft at all? Spongy? | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| i did have a few tiny bits of red sap comming out. but its soaking in a bucket of bleech and water and i will leave it for a few days before soaking it in plain water , then baking it again does that sound good?
jack | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| If its sticky sap... then its not good.  That means its an evergreen and not advised for an aquarium. | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by capekate  great looking wood! Looks nice and clean.. If you are not sure of the wood, just think about where you found it and look around at the tree's in the area.. and then you should have a pretty good guess. With the nubs on the wood it almost reminds me of an every green of some sort. But not positive either, its hard to tell.
But it looks pretty nice... and clean and doesnt look like its going to leach anything out. I'd like to see a photo of the ends tho, there you can have a good eye unto what type of wood it may be.
Is the wood soft at all? Spongy? | there was no evergreen trees where i got it from, i did not check if it was spongy because it was wet and that would have made it soft from the water absorbed... this is a picture of one side (sorry for the bad quality)
Jack | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Ahh too many posts to keep up Quote:
Originally Posted by capekate If its sticky sap... then its not good. That means its an evergreen and not advised for an aquarium. | i couldnt tell if it was sticky because it came out the oven and was dryed. but it came straight off when i scratched it. so i dont know if that is a good sign or not  | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Well, since there are no evergreens in the area where you found it, I would say that you are good to go. The piece looks great...
Be sure and post photos of the tank when its all set up in there! | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| That is not a evergreen tree. More like a elm or a sprus. Most trees will have a sap come out. older the drift less sap. You did all the things you need to do. Let it dry 100% and chip a small chunk of it, If it comes of in little chunks not big splinters you got one dead tree. Soak it in some old tank water about two hrs. Then enjoy the dead wood in you tank. | |
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October 29th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by bdn That is not a evergreen tree. More like a elm or a sprus. | Spruce is evergreen.
However, since there were no evergreens in the area, things should be fine. | |
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October 30th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| thanks for the advice everyone, i will leave it in the bleach for the rest of the day then soak it in water for a few days , then it will be good to go i'll post pics a.s.a.p
thanks again | |
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October 31st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| i am just about to take it out of the water and put it in the oven to dry for the last time. does anyone think i need to do more? or will i be ok to put it in my tank after that?
Jack | |
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October 31st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| I have used local found drift wood too. The problem with it is its not the heavy dense Malaysian wood and it often floats.
If it floats, you'll need to anchor it. I've drilled tile to the bottom of large pieces to get it to stay down. I've also placed bags of stone over it to hold it down for a few days until its water logged. Good luck, have fun. | |
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October 31st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| mine floats also, i am planning on hammering some nails in untill it is waterlogged | |
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October 31st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Stainless steel nails? I used stainless in my tank. Although I used long wood screws. | |
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October 31st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| now that was one bouyant piece of wood ... ended up putting about 8 pieces of cutlery on it :P hopefully it will have propperly sunk by tomorrow morning
will post pics when it does | |
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November 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| its been in the tank a day and i have only untied 1 fork and it still floats to the surface. is this normal? does anyone know how long it will take to become totally waterlogged?
Jack | |
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November 3rd, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| It could take many days. I have to tell you the found piece of wood I had was so dead and full of air that I literally had to soak it for 3 months outside with large field stone to submerge it. Still had to drill and screw tile to it to sink it in my tank.
My store bought ($$$) other piece is the heavy kind of wood, that took 3 days to sink (with stones helping to hold it down).
I don't think you'll know till you wait it out and see what happens. | |
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