Manzanita Driftwood Tree Safety

[Martin Honigmann]

Hello,

I just got a free old dried whole Manzanita tree that my sister had in her storage for 5 years. It looks natural and probably sandblasted since there is no bark at all. I know Manzanita is safe but my concern is that I don't know the provenance and I was wondering if Manzanita branches like this for home display are usually treated with some kind of insecticides or chemicals.

It is a very big piece and I am itching to treat it to use in my tank.

Any advice on how to know if it is safe?

Thanks in advance!

 

[maggie thecat]

You could soak it in conditioned water, doing multiple changes to leach out any potential chemicals. Maybe give it a scrub with some activated charcoal for good measure.

 

[Martin Honigmann]

You could soak it in conditioned water, doing multiple changes to leach out any potential chemicals. Maybe give it a scrub with some activated charcoal for good measure.

Thank you Maggie, I am going to try it.

 

[maggie thecat]

Good luck with it.

One last thought. If it appears to be coated with something, you could sand it.