Driftwood and bogwood

fishdudein · May 22, 2004

I've read some posts here with people talking about driftwood, and others talking about bogwood. Is this the same thing, and if it's not, how do they differ? In my area, the only thing I have ever seen is driftwood. I had not actually heard the term "bogwood" until I came to this forum. :dunno:

nightlife20 · May 22, 2004

i just think its a locational dialect thing... iv always refered to it as bogwood, some ppl call it driftwood, others call it mopanni (or somthin along them there lines)

imo they all the same (well apart from some look nicer than others

)

i could be wrong tho -_-

cometcattle · May 22, 2004

When I bought what was labeled driftwood, It was smoother in texture, lighter in color and it floated (needed to be weighted down). When I buy bogwood, it has lots of nooks and crannies, much darker in color, and it sank.

One of my lfs sell both, their driftwood is always attached to slate to weigh it down.

Teelie · May 22, 2004

Bogwood: Lakes, ponds, bogs. Freshwater.
Driftwood: Oceans, esutaries, inlets. Saltwater.

They do have a difference more than just dialect.

Mopane is a kind of bogwood, very popular and common. It comes from Africa.

fishdudein · May 23, 2004

Thanks for the replies. The only thing I've ever seen in any of the shops I've been in is driftwood (and always attached to a slab of slate). Is bogwood common in certain areas?

heresmike · May 23, 2004

Teelie said:
Bogwood: Lakes, ponds, bogs. Freshwater.
Driftwood: Oceans, esutaries, inlets. Saltwater.

Where did you get these definitions? I doubt it has anything to do with saltwater vs. freshwater. All my driftwood (wood that drifts) comes from lakes or rivers.

Dictionary.com says....

driftwood: Wood drifted or floated by water.

bogwood: The wood of trees, esp. of oaks, dug up from peat bogs. It is of a shining black or ebony color, and is largely used for making ornaments.

Teelie · May 23, 2004

Common definition in shops and the trade.

http

/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aqua...ping/wood.shtml

The real definition of bogwood is wood that has stood for years in an acidic peat bog and has consequently leached out its tannins and has acquired a dark color. Bogwood hasn't rotted, because the low pH of a bog discourages fungal spores and most bacteria. "Driftwood" from saltwater beaches has been leached in saltwater and bleached by the sun to its familiar gray. Driftwood darkens when it's wet.

heresmike · May 23, 2004

Teelie said:
Common definition in shops and the trade.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aqua...ping/wood.shtml

The real definition of bogwood is wood that has stood for years in an acidic peat bog and has consequently leached out its tannins and has acquired a dark color. Bogwood hasn't rotted, because the low pH of a bog discourages fungal spores and most bacteria. "Driftwood" from saltwater beaches has been leached in saltwater and bleached by the sun to its familiar gray. Driftwood darkens when it's wet.

Click to expand...

Not to turn this into a debate, but that doesn't mean that all driftwood comes from saltwater. It simply says that driftwood from saltwater has been etc, etc.

I've collected wood from freshwater lakes and rivers... it floats and drifts, matching the qualities described for driftwood. The wood I've collected certainly does not match the definition of bogwood in that link or in the dictionary!

Teelie · May 23, 2004

That's one of the problems with interchanging the words and some of the definitions. Still, driftwood is usually associated with the ocean and bogwood from freshwater. An alternative can be pondwood for wood from freshwater. I've heard it less frequently but it does more accurately resemble where freshwater wood comes from.

CFC · May 23, 2004

Ive always thought of driftwood as being wood that has been collected from the shores/banks of a body of water where it has drifted ashore and bogwood is wood that has been collected from a bog or swamp where it has been submerged for a long time.

Mopani is a purely decorative wood that has no real use in a tank other than to look good, wood eating fish like panaques cannot digest it and it does very little in the way of softening water like bogwood does. Also mopani is generally cut down by the local people rather than just being fallen pieces that have been collected and has much more tannin left in the wood so needs longer soaking than drift or bogwood.

heresmike · May 23, 2004

CFC said:
Ive always thought of driftwood as being wood that has been collected from the shores/banks of a body of water where it has drifted ashore and bogwood is wood that has been collected from a bog or swamp where it has been submerged for a long time.

Me too! That's what I'm going to continue to think of it as!

timbo_ska · May 23, 2004

I agree with that, it's what i always thought the difference was, but im not sure my bogwood has had all its tannis leached out! - does soften the water though

And looks cool - also my plec gives it a :thumbs:

for taste

, cant say i'd like to rasp on it..

fishdudein · May 23, 2004

Well that brings up another aspect of the question... I have always kept driftwood in my tanks with my plecos, but to be honest with you I don't see them actually grazing on it. They rest there occasionally, suckered on as plecos do, but I don't notice any of the wood wearing down ( I realize this is probably a slow process ). Would they appreciate bogwood instead of driftwood, or does it make a difference? Like I said, though, it's probably a moot point for me, since none of the lfs carry bogwood anyway.

silver · May 23, 2004

Okay.....I must put in my very small .02 :nod:

Whenever I think/see/hear of driftwood it is barkless, smooth and of allmost white coloration (very light) and it collects on the shores of rivers, oceans and lakes.......and it floats like a raft :lol:

, very lightweight!!

To me, bogwood is very crumbley dark rich wood that is "bogged" down with water...water logged you may say........Aquarium wood!!!

:dunno: