Spiderwood Looks Green

[Asomeone]

I just received my shipment from aquaterrasupply and the wood looks a bit odd. It's supposed to be sandblasted manzanita that is suitable for aquariums but I'm pretty sure its fresh and not cured in the least. I was confused because the box that the wood was shipped in is from Blooms and Branches and not aquaterra. After some searching I learned that aquaterra is Blooms and branches under a different name. Kinda shady if you ask me but I saw in the searches that plenty of people use their wood. Great prices like unbelievable. Anyway,
I saw one thread on google that said they had a similar concern, put the wood in the tank, and their fish all died the next day. The op suspected it was from the sap in the wood since it wasn't actually dead wood. I have a concern that this wood is freshcut sandblasted wood since it has a very "tree-ee" smell After soaking for a bit I also see that possibly there is a very light green tint to the wood. I broke off a small section of the smaller branches but they all look dead. The suspected area of aliveness is in the larger section of the wood. I just want some reassurance before I kill all my fish.
I am also unable to boil this wood due to its size/shape.
Just to restate PSA- aquaterrasupply.com is really bloomsandbranches.com
Edit:
I know baking the wood is a safety hazard due to fire but I figure it might make it possible for me to ensure the wood is dried out. I'd just sit in the kitchen and watch the wood while doing class work anyway. How would I go about this, length/temp?

 

[JenC]

I am very I interested to see what folks think about this as I recently ordered from Aquaterra as well...

 

[midna]

that's manzanita, not spiderwood. and the insides look odd... almost like they're rotting?? i've never seen the insides of manzanita before but i'd assume it'd be the same colour all throughout just like other woods. this looks suspicious. I would contact customer service tbh

 

[Asomeone]

I am very I interested to see what folks think about this as I recently ordered from Aquaterra as well...

go to 'site help/faq' scroll on down to 'buyers guide'. Find the section "urns: types, sizes and filling information" Read about the type of urn you might want to bury your loved one in on an aquarium supply site

 

[JenC]

go to 'site help/faq' scroll on down to 'buyers guide'. Find the section "urns: types, sizes and filling information" Read about the type of urn you might want to bury your loved one in on an aquarium supply site

What the heck....

https://www.aquaterrasupply.com/help_answer.asp?ID=15#266

Well this doesn't make me feel good about my order.

 

[Asomeone]

that's manzanita, not spiderwood. and the insides look odd... almost like they're rotting?? i've never seen the insides of manzanita before but i'd assume it'd be the same colour all throughout just like other woods. this looks suspicious. I would contact customer service tbh

Woops, you're correct I just was thinking of the wrong thing when I posted the thread. I submitted a message through their website but since the website is actually run by blooms and branches I'm not too sure I'll get a response. We'll see.

 

[WildType]

Bumping and following because it doesn't look quite right to me but I don't know anything. My spiderwood didn't look much like that, tho. Color, stumps, etc.

 

[Asomeone]

What the heck....

https://www.aquaterrasupply.com/help_answer.asp?ID=15#266

Well this doesn't make me feel good about my order.

hehehehe I was looking through their site trying to see if I could find more information contributing to their legitimacy in the fish world....this didn't make me happy.
My buddy said "when a fish that's gone through a lot with you dies"

 

[Platylover]

This is odd... honestly I’ve been a little suspicious of them after a member here stated that they sent a shipping notification a week before shipping... Kind of glad I have not purchased from there.

Sorry, can’t help about the greenness or rotting...

 

[Asomeone]

Baking a piece at 250f for an hour.
Called and emailed both companies. We'll see what they say.
In the meantime illI be cooking my wood
Any suggestions on how to know when it's ready for the tank after baking.

 

[Asomeone]

Well they responded. I baked the wood and stuck it in the tank. Well see what happens.
I don't see how the wood wouldn't have any sap in it. After baking I assume it'll do better in the tank.

 

[JenC]

I'm kind of thrilled that you baked it and even provided a picture of it in the oven.

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try that but I'm thinking about it for the grape wood I ordered from them.

So... "freshly harvested" could mean live wood. Which isn't what you want in an aquarium. Do you think they know that as they advertise it as aquarium wood?

The baking is sounding better and better...

Do keep us updated!

 

[Asomeone]

Alright. Baked the two pieces for over 4 hours combined. One piece for an 1.5 hours the other piece for 3.2 hours. Baked at 250f after soaking both for 24 hours. The first piece dried out quickly and smelled normal. It sunk easily (on the right). The second piece wasn't as nice and after baking for 1.5 hours it still smelled alive. I put it back in for another 1.5 hours after the 3rd hour it is floating but after cutting into the largest portion of it, it looks dead/dry. It's currently floating (left) but I may weigh it down with some fishing line on my rocks.
Well see if all my fish die tomorrow.
It really was simple to throw them in the oven and sit in the kitchen and watch. I just drank beer and did homework to be honest.
Baking is the way to go if you have time to sit and watch the wood. I feel like in most ovens the wood won't just light up and burn the house down. It would starts smoking and then light. If you're sitting there you could quickly open the oven and plop the wood in the sink.

 

[SuperD14]

Alright. Baked the two pieces for over 4 hours combined. One piece for an 1.5 hours the other piece for 3.2 hours. Baked at 250f after soaking both for 24 hours. The first piece dried out quickly and smelled normal. It sunk easily (on the right). The second piece wasn't as nice and after baking for 1.5 hours it still smelled alive. I put it back in for another 1.5 hours after the 3rd hour it is floating but after cutting into the largest portion of it, it looks dead/dry. It's currently floating (left) but I may weigh it down with some fishing line on my rocks.
Well see if all my fish die tomorrow.
It really was simple to throw them in the oven and sit in the kitchen and watch. I just drank beer and did homework to be honest.
Baking is the way to go if you have time to sit and watch the wood. I feel like in most ovens the wood won't just light up and burn the house down. It would starts smoking and then light. If you're sitting there you could quickly open the oven and plop the wood in the sink.

Well that’s an amazing looking tank!! What size is it? Stocking?
Good luck with the wood, I think it looks kinda cool floating there

 

[Asomeone]

Well that’s an amazing looking tank!! What size is it? Stocking?
Good luck with the wood, I think it looks kinda cool floating there

50 gallon main tank. it has 5 fire mouth cichlids from 2 inches to 5 inches in it (it's overstocked), 2 spotted plecos, and nerite snails. Unfortunately I have a single loach in the tank as well. His friends died from jumping and I haven't figured out what to do with the last one yet. He kinda gets along with the firemouths. I supplimented the overstocked tank with a 20 gallon sump and very frequent water changes.
I'm hoping my firemouths start breeding hence the sand portion in the middle. They decided to move the other substrate instead of the sand. So we'll see what happens.

 

[SuperD14]

50 gallon main tank. it has 5 fire mouth cichlids from 2 inches to 5 inches in it (it's overstocked), 2 spotted plecos, and nerite snails. Unfortunately I have a single loach in the tank as well. His friends died from jumping and I haven't figured out what to do with the last one yet. He kinda gets along with the firemouths. I supplimented the overstocked tank with a 20 gallon sump and very frequent water changes.
I'm hoping my firemouths start breeding hence the sand portion in the middle. They decided to move the other substrate instead of the sand. So we'll see what happens.

I believe firemouths enjoy being in groups anyways, however I’m not sure about that when they start to breed. I wouldn’t say it’s overstocked considering I can’t see any of the actual fish!!

 

[Asomeone]

I believe firemouths enjoy being in groups anyways, however I’m not sure about that when they start to breed. I wouldn’t say it’s overstocked considering I can’t see any of the actual fish!!

Oh they just hide later in the day. They're scaredy cats until feeding time.

 

[SuperD14]

Oh they just hide later in the day. They're scaredy cats until feeding time.

If they do breed I think it could cause some conflict.

 

[Asomeone]

If they do breed I think it could cause some conflict.

The largest 2 are already very protective and aggressive. There's enough hiding spots that the other firemouths are normally not in their way though.
Everything is still alive! I'm surprised.

 

[JenC]

I got my grape wood today. It was shipped quickly, wrapped well, and arrived ahead of schedule so the company did well on those fronts.

My wood looks dry. I don't see any green or other color on the inside, so that's good. Now I just have to decide if I'm brave enough to bake it. I think I'm not so I'll have to try something else... I might try soaking it in boiling water into a 5 gallon bucket. Supposedly a HDPE bucket can withstand temps above boiling so I guess we'll see!

Asomeone, how are your fish doing with the new wood?

 

[Asomeone]

I got my grape wood today. It was shipped quickly, wrapped well, and arrived ahead of schedule so the company did well on those fronts.

My wood looks dry. I don't see any green or other color on the inside, so that's good. Now I just have to decide if I'm brave enough to bake it. I think I'm not so I'll have to try something else... I might try soaking it in boiling water into a 5 gallon bucket. Supposedly a HDPE bucket can withstand temps above boiling so I guess we'll see!

Asomeone, how are your fish doing with the new wood?

Sorry, I was on duty since Thursday.
What did you end up doing?
Id think the water would cool too fast in a bucket to be particularly effective but they are supposed to be stable up to 230f, so they should withstand the boiling water.

If you didn't already go through your process. Id try to cut into it if you're concerned about it being dead. You can see a lot more this way as the ends won't necessarily show that its dry all the way through. I'd just vote for the baking and sitting with a beer for an hour, but that's just me. If the wood is alive then it's either wait months for it to dry or bake. I'm impatient so I bake.

My fishies are all good! The wood hasn't begun to discolor the water yet and the fish are happy. Two are continuing their mating dance. I haven't seen any eggs in their den of choice yet.
If I'm learning anything from my african cichlid tank it's fish breed too fast once they get started. I have so many baby fish that have survived and are growing in that tank. Doesn't look like there's any slowing down either.

Positive note, nothings dead. The second piece sunk and no longer needs weighed down. I haven't seen any change in water parameters from testing. I'm probably gonna buy more from the company. Since I understand what I have to do to it now I'm much more confident buying from em.

 

[SuperD14]

Good to see it’s all going well!!

 

[JenC]

I have some concerns about my purchased grape wood...

I was soaking it to waterlog it and maybe leach out some tannins and the water turned nasty. It grew a substantial orange foamy film on the surface (that was difficult to scrub off the bucket) and it literally smelled like vomit.

I've only had hard mopanI wood before and nothing like this happened with those pieces. Perhaps grape wood is just different?

I am very wary of baking the wood (envisioning fire!) but now I'm not sure what to do. If the wood is fouling a bucket of water then I can't imagine it would be healthy for a tank unless this is a normal process I'm not understanding.

 

[Asomeone]

I have some concerns about my purchased grape wood...

I was soaking it to waterlog it and maybe leach out some tannins and the water turned nasty. It grew a substantial orange foamy film on the surface (that was difficult to scrub off the bucket) and it literally smelled like vomit.

I've only had hard mopanI wood before and nothing like this happened with those pieces. Perhaps grape wood is just different?

I am very wary of baking the wood (envisioning fire!) but now I'm not sure what to do. If the wood is fouling a bucket of water then I can't imagine it would be healthy for a tank unless this is a normal process I'm not understanding.

Well from researching into this...Orange film can be iron bacteria. Rotten egg odor/vomit could be hydrogen sulfide/sulfate. This is just in researching for reasons for the water to change...and is more in reference to water coming out of a tap, but I imagine its still somewhat relative.
I guess these things could be absorbed? I'm glad you soaked your wood, I have not experienced a similar issue and I also soaked my wood before baking. Vomit odors and orange foam is not something I have ever heard of before.
Maybe the wood was still too live. As we've seen at the start of the thread, mine was. Maybe your pieces were even more lively and that fouled the water?
Either way I'd definitely contact the company and see what they have to say while you continue researching.
Personally my wood is still in the tank and I have not seen water parameter change or experienced fish loss. As we've seen with Blooms and Branches/aquaterra, things are a bit spotty though.
Hopefully someone else can shed further light and I'll keep looking online