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Hey all,
I saw some driftwood at the pet store. It is actually designed to go in a reptile habitat, can i use it in my fishtank? Also, does it matter what wood i use?

esandbergger

When I was looking for my DW I came across the same problem.

The answer is yes and a BIG NONO

Some of the reptile wood has basically not actually DW but timber from the ground under trees etc. It also might not have been cleaned and prepared for a fish tank.

If it has been previously been used for reptiles it can be contaminated.

Now the YES it could have been properly prepared and cleaned this you can see very easy incomparison to the others.

Best advice is to ask but remember it is you who finally makes the decision which one "shape & size" to buy.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 23-Aug-2005 04:08

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Ah ok cool.....I think that halps quited a bit

I've used this wood in my tanks, and it's not ideal, but you can use it. It takes forever to make it sink, especially if you get a large piece of it. You may also notice that a week or so after you put it in your tank, it will grow this funky fungus that looks really gross. You can either leave it and it will disappear in a few weeks, or you can scrub it off.
This wood will also rot in the fishtank much more quickly than bogwood meant for aquarium use, and this can cause problems in your filter, and possibly lead to polluted water (but this is after advanced decay which takes a few years).

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

it will grow this funky fungus that looks really gross.

For the record that's actually common with various types of wood and not specificly to the reptile woods . As was mentioned though the growth will go away on it's own. I've found it rather annoying to clean off as it really does have the consistancy of a very soggy sneeze .

As for the reptile "wood" itself. Check carefully as quite often they use grapevine which gives much nicer twisty pieces (being a vine they can make it do that *lol) but will degrade faster and be harder to keep down. keithgh's concern of treatments is quite valid and I share the same ones. Obvously they're not going to use anything overly toxic as it is designed to be used with a pet, but I'd have concerns of what they used to treat it and if it'll effect the fish negitivly.

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And the tears come streaming down your face
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