Just not loving it

[CassCats]

Wait wait wait... You also collect your own wood and rocks for tanks?

The elm root is really nice, and would make an awesome underwater 'tree' if you glued java moss to it...

I've so badly wanted to take wood and stones from nature and use them to scape. I'm getting into aquascaping, but driftwood and hardscape is soooo expensive at my LFS and online, which has really held me back. I've seen awesome branches and things that would look incredible, and I did look into how to make sure it was aquarium safe, but sources were torn on whether it was really safe or not, saying that some organisms or eggs might be able to survive boiling! And that bleaching wood could be dangerous too, since some woods could soak up the bleach into tiny crevices, and then leach out into your tank. Also different methods suggested to test whether a stone is inert or not, and that testing it by dropping vinegar I think it was not reliable.
So I chickened out.

Please please share how you do this! Do you need to identify what kind of tree the wood came from? Or what type of rock it is? How do you make a piece aquarium safe, just by boiling? My gut tells me that boiling it would be enough, and it would be incredibly rare and unlucky for anything to survive several boilings.

The vinegar drop on rocks is true and worth it.

I'll bake wood or boil it, i prefer to grab what's already dried out when it comes to wood, instead of any sitting in water. Ive never had any nasties introduced from driftwood, aside from bryozoa that can survive boiling potentially, but they are 1000% harmless to your tank and can actually be beneficial if anything.

I bake any pieces too large to boil. But I never bleach driftwood. Too porous to risk.

Do not collect grapevine, pines, cedars, spruce, or any wood that produces a white sap. Make sure it is dried out and aged. Fresh branches will rot.

Some safe bets are oak, beech, birch, magnolia, and elm. I personally love elm because young shrubs of it have fun shapes and they grow along rocky shorelines where i live, so they get washed up as driftwood often.

 

[CassCats]

oh, and also like to add, only use driftwood collected from freshwater sources for freshwater tanks, not saltwater sources

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The vinegar drop on rocks is true and worth it.

I'll bake wood or boil it, i prefer to grab what's already dried out when it comes to wood, instead of any sitting in water. Ive never had any nasties introduced from driftwood, aside from bryozoa that can survive boiling potentially, but they are 1000% harmless to your tank and can actually be beneficial if anything.

I bake any pieces too large to boil. But I never bleach driftwood. Too porous to risk.

Do not collect grapevine, pines, cedars, spruce, or any wood that produces a white sap. Make sure it is dried out and aged. Fresh branches will rot.

Some safe bets are oak, beech, birch, magnolia, and elm. I personally love elm because young shrubs of it have fun shapes and they grow along rocky shorelines where i live, so they get washed up as driftwood often.

You just might be my new best friend... you've saved me hundreds of pounds. Maybe even thousands over the years, depending on if I stick with 'scaping or not.

Dog walks are going to be interesting now. Me examining every tree, my dog confused, wondering why I'm collecting branches but not throwing any of them for her...

Really sorry to keep bugging you, but have more questions! When you bake large pieces, what temp and how long for? Do you bleach rocks or stick to boiling and baking too?

I'm not very good at identifying trees, but very willing to learn, and stick to the safe bets. Plenty of oak, beech, birch and elm around here. Do you just collect branches which are under a tree, so you know which tree they came from?

A lot of questions, I'm so sorry. I'm quite happy to go research all this myself, just not sure which sources are good for this sort of thing, since I've gotten too many things wrong by trusting the wrong source when it comes to tanks. If anyone knows a good website or resource, that would be awesome.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Testing rocks using vinegar for the presence of carbonates works, but because vinegar is a weak acid it will only work if the carbonate concentration in the rock is relatively high. So testing using vinegar can sometimes be unreliable. If there isn't enough carbonate present to react with the weak acid (vinegar), there will be no fizzing, which would essentially be a false negative.

If you have API's Master Test Kit, as many hobbyists do, you can actually use Bottle#1 for the Nitrate Test. Bottle #1 Nitrate contains a stronger acid (HCl) then vinegar and can be used to test rocks, and because it contains a stronger acid it is more reliable than vinegar for testing rocks containing lower concentrations of carbonates. Just drop a few drops from the Nitrate Bottle #1 on to the rock and if you observe fizzing or bubbling, the rock contains carbonates and is not safe for your aquarium...No fizzing= rock is safe. Just be sure to rinse and scrub the rock after testing prior to adding it to your tank.

I used this method myself and it definitely works!!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Testing rocks using vinegar for the presence of carbonates works, but because vinegar is a weak acid it will only work if the carbonate concentration in the rock is relatively high. So testing using vinegar can sometimes be unreliable. If there isn't enough carbonate present to react with the weak acid (vinegar), there will be no fizzing, which would essentially be a false negative.

If you have API's Master Test Kit, as many hobbyists do, you can actually use Bottle#1 for the Nitrate Test. Bottle #1 Nitrate contains a stronger acid (HCl) then vinegar and can be used to test rocks, and because it contains a stronger acid it is more reliable than vinegar for testing rocks containing lower concentrations of carbonates. Just drop a few drops from the Nitrate Bottle #1 on to the rock and if you observe fizzing or bubbling, the rock contains carbonates and is not safe for your aquarium...No fizzing= rock is safe. Just be sure to rinse and scrub the rock after testing prior to adding it to your tank.

I used this method myself and it definitely works!!

I do have the API kit, and that's really great to know, thank you so much! Will definitely be doing this. I was so bad at Chemistry, you guys rock! Pun fully intended.

 

[dmpfishlover]

I do have the API kit, and that's really great to know, thank you so much! Will definitely be doing this. I was so bad at Chemistry, you guys rock! Pun fully intended.

Glad to help!

 

[CassCats]

You just might be my new best friend... you've saved me hundreds of pounds. Maybe even thousands over the years, depending on if I stick with 'scaping or not.

Dog walks are going to be interesting now. Me examining every tree, my dog confused, wondering why I'm collecting branches but not throwing any of them for her...

Really sorry to keep bugging you, but have more questions! When you bake large pieces, what temp and how long for? Do you bleach rocks or stick to boiling and baking too?

I'm not very good at identifying trees, but very willing to learn, and stick to the safe bets. Plenty of oak, beech, birch and elm around here. Do you just collect branches which are under a tree, so you know which tree they came from?

A lot of questions, I'm so sorry. I'm quite happy to go research all this myself, just not sure which sources are good for this sort of thing, since I've gotten too many things wrong by trusting the wrong source when it comes to tanks. If anyone knows a good website or resource, that would be awesome.

Sycamore is another safe one, called plane tree in UK i believe.

Be sure its a fallen branch, not one picked off the tree. Snap a piece of the branch, if it snaps easy its dry enough to use in the tanks. If not, its too fresh and will rot in the tank.

I have a local river, i collect usually from the shorelines myself rather than branches fallen from trees, but using fallen branches would be good if you find nice ones that are thoroughly dried out.

My usual go-to place.

 

[Retired Viking]

Nice looking spot, I collect along lake Michigan and in the woods and sand dunes near where I live. As far as vinegar testing on rocks it has worked for me in the past but when I tried it with my gravel I had no reaction. Later as I tried to reduce the hardness in my tetra tank water I ran into a problem. The hardness kept going back up after awhile. I took some gravel and placed it in a container of RO water tested at 006ppm and the next day when I tested it again it was .028ppm. I found what was causing my issue and changed to sand.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Sycamore is another safe one, called plane tree in UK i believe.

Be sure its a fallen branch, not one picked off the tree. Snap a piece of the branch, if it snaps easy its dry enough to use in the tanks. If not, its too fresh and will rot in the tank.

I have a local river, i collect usually from the shorelines myself rather than branches fallen from trees, but using fallen branches would be good if you find nice ones that are thoroughly dried out.

My usual go-to place.
View attachment 110781

Beautiful Location... You are very lucky!!

 

[dmpfishlover]

Nice looking spot, I collect along lake Michigan and in the woods and sand dunes near where I live. As far as vinegar testing on rocks it has worked for me in the past but when I tried it with my gravel I had no reaction. Later as I tried to reduce the hardness in my tetra tank water I ran into a problem. The hardness kept going back up after awhile. I took some gravel and placed it in a container of RO water tested at 006ppm and the next day when I tested it again it was .028ppm. I found what was causing my issue and changed to sand.

I live on Lake Michigan as well!!

Well...not "on" it...I live "by" it....I don't live on a house boat or anything...LOL....I live within a mile of it's shore.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I collect driftwood from the local creek bank after spring run off, when there is always a good selection of bleached, clean wood well above water line. I give it a good scrub with a wire brush, then let it bake in the sun for a couple weeks. I don't collect rocks from the creek itself, because sanitizing them is too much trouble, but it's easy to find interesting rocks in dry areas. I try to stick with granite and similar that I know are non reactive. Give them a rinse and in they go.

I've also used dead juniper wood off the tree. If I know the species is non-toxic, and the branch has been dead long enough that there's no bark left on it, I figure it's OK to use.

 

[Retired Viking]

I am just 3-4 miles away. I ride my bike down to the shore and along the walking trail that runs along the shore. The water is so high there is almost no beach with all the rain we have been getting. Makes it hard lately to find driftwood.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I drove through North Wales over the weekend and struggled to keep my eyes on the road for all the incredible looking branches I kept spotting lying around. Wouldn't be worth grabbing anything from the roadside due to pollutants mind. I already throw dried oak leaves in the tank - theres a couple of oaks in the park by me, but havent found any dead branches from them, yet

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Since I'm in a pretty big city, I won't grab anything that's close to the rive here. Too many roads, too much pollution. I take my dogs to some woodlands though where the wood should be safe, and there are plenty of long dead branches on the ground. Will keep an eye out when we next go to the beach too
Need to practice my tree identifying skills though.
Wait.. how do you know which tree it comes from if it's just dead wood, with no leaves or obvious bark like a silver birch? Just experience with different woods? My only experience with IDing wood is telling whether a sideboard is mahogany or pine or something.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Collected some pebbles from the beach the other day, need to break up the sand substrate a bit (they're all smooth and corydoras friendly)