Can I use Peice of ceder driftwood

[Wiggler 1]

I found this beautiful peice of ceder root ...i tooled it out to make caves and it looks good..I would like to put it in my tank but not sure if it is suitable (like kill my fish or live plants) I seen another post on Rocks and thank god i used granite instead of some others i have found...if some one can help i would appreciate this ..thank you.

 

[quintessential]

Don't see why not. I would boil it first though.

 

[rdd1952]

I have heard several times that you shouldn't use any wood from evergreens. I have never heard the reason why but I have stayed away from them. You can probably do a google search and find out why or if it is true at all.

 

[Wiggler 1]

Thanks for your replies...I did a Google search (which took a long long time)
I found two sites that mentioned to use only hardwoods and to boil wood for 20mins twice and then let sit in treated water with water changes everyday until water is clear.
I dont want to kill my fish so I guess all that work is now gonna be a ornament on the outside of my tank (thats cool still looks good) thanks again

 

[sinistral]

Just as an addendum, apparently cedar contains plicatic acid, which is the primary irritant implicated in causing an allergic response in humans and liver damage in animals.

There are other irritants as well. You can find my reference here.

I can't find many reputable studies that show an effect on fish. Sounds like you're right-- it's safest to avoid using cedar and pine in the aquarium.

 

[Wiggler 1]

Thanks for that info...really interesting stuff...just might start wearing masks when working with wood...Thanks again for your help folks