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you see some logs in the back and think..

hmmm.... these would look alright in my 55g

sad thing is... i considering using them.

free wood.. but thats the risk?

do you think they will be ok if i rinse them for 24 hours in treaded water, aka not tap water?

these logs have been outside in a garden baed for several years.. would they be usless in a tank?

Free wood sounds like a good idea. BUT ...

Wood that's been outside and slowly decaying for several years needs a LOT of treatment before it's safe to put in an aquarium.

First, you need to boil it for several hours to kill off any fungi that are living in the wood.

Second, you need to soak it for a long time in a large container, and change the water regularly. Even a small piece shouldn't be considered safe until it's been soaked like this (after boiling) for a minimum of three months. Larger pieces can take over a year.

Only when it's soaked for a long time can you start to consider it as potentially suitable for aquarium use. After 3 months, anything unpleasant lurking in the wood (e.g., mycotoxins from saphrophytic fungi) should have dispersed. Even so, it would be a good idea to give it another boiling just to make sure, then another week's soaking. Then test it with hardy fish first in a trial aquarium before putting it in with prize Discus, for example.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

thanks Cal.

i doubt the people living here would apreciate yucky wood in the house.

i think i'll just save my pennies

stu you are Aussie like me. I am too scared to use anything not from the Aquarium. The wood we have in Australia like eucalyps and tea trees are not safe. The cost in restocking your tank makes saving seem like a good idea and just buy the wood.

just my opinion of course but a good question to ask.

Last edited by wish-ga at 28-Apr-2005 23:02

Last edited by wish-ga at 30-Apr-2005 03:33

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

being unemployed

i'm always thinking of new ways to get stuff for really cheap or free

but i think as far as tanks stuff goes its just nor possable.

i get my wood from the beaches its all oak, or something of those sorts i just picked up like 5-6 pieces, but it is a good idea to soak it for a while, but my fav kind of drift wood, is the kind that u have to dive for already sunk, just needs to be boiled

stu, wish-ga is correct in Australia its a dicey bussiness to grab wood from nature as most of our vegitaion will do major damage to most tropical fish, I've had a friend who was saving by using wood he had lying about, I tried to tell him but it took 30mins for his entire tank to go belly up even tho he had soaked and boiled the wood so dont risk it mate

fishyhelper you are in the USA... things are different round here. (see above for mentions of eucalypts and tea tree)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Would it be worth it to ship smaller pieces of driftwood from Canada to Australia or would the shipping charges make it a bad idea ?

Just wondering as I collect my own driftwood and have extra pieces etc, the extras I have right now are rather large but I can search for smaller pieces in a week or 2 if there's any interest..

The Amazon Nut...

DaFishMan, we really need more people like you around here! Where were you when I was searching for wood for my 10? I don't trust anything from around here, most ponds and rivers are/were polluted, and I'm not up for an hour drive to the beach. I typically get mine from the LFS... I love the Malaysian Driftwood.

DaFishMan, sounds like a good idea, however the freight cost would not be the problem it would be definaly cheaper than LFS prices in Australia.

But Australia at has toughened it's quarentine laws, so it may get to Aus nice and cheap only to be retained by customs and the reciever possibly fined

But I think your a legend for the offer tho

Last edited by hollywood at 01-May-2005 20:40