Petrified Wood

[LifeBear]

A guy I met had a piece of petrified wood about the size of a bowling ball (but not round) he let me have. I was thinking about putting it into my 55 gal. How should I go about cleaning and sterilizing it? What would the effect (if any) be on the water pH, etc?

I think it would look cool, but that is a secondary prioity to fish health. If things won't work out, I'll clean it wit hsoap and set it next to the tank, OUTSIDE the glass.

 

[taylorhedrich]

I don't think that it will effect your ph, however, I am concerned about the weight of it. You said that it was about the size of a bowling ball, so it probably weighs quite a bit. Does the bottom of your tank(i.e the glass) have support, so the stone doesn't go crashing through?
~Taylor~

 

[Tolak]

I have some smaller pieces of petrified wood in a couple of tanks. You can either boil it, or if you don't have a big enough pot, soak it in water with a little bleach. Rinse real good afterwards.

With a rock that size, you will want to put some eggcrate under your gravel to spread out the weight.

Tolak

 

[LifeBear]

Didn't think about weight, since it is going into a 55 gal, which is already pretty dern heavy. I suppose I thought it would not be an issue if the stone was set in carefully. I am not planning on throwing it into the tank (jk)

There is support under the tank, though moreso aroung the edges than in the middle. The guy that gave it to me had an even bigger piece he picked up at the same time in his 55, but of course, that doesn't mean that it is definitely ok.

 

[Tolak]

With all the newer tanks, the support is only around the edge. That is the reason for spreading out the weight. If it were to shift over time & put all the weight in one small area, you risk blowing out the bottom.

Tolak

 

[LifeBear]

Egg crate under the gravel, good idea. And no problem, since I haven't got the tank running yet.

After the boiling and bleaching or vinegaring, would soaking in some water with pH Up be a good idea, to double make sure that the acid is gone? Soak for a while and test the pH in the bucket and change out, adjust, or whatever, until it tests at 7?

I think it would be cool with some java fern stuck to it. But I don't have the best time keeping java fern alive. More delicate plants, no problem...but java fern and amazon swords die. Go figure.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi LifeBear

Petrified wood is beautiful and usually expensive. Since you don't have your location in your profile, I don't know where you live, but if it's in the US and it was stolen from one of the parks, you could be in trouble.

The park rangers do not take kindly to people who make off with it.

 

[LifeBear]

I am already so stressed out about setting up this 55 (biggest tank I've ever had) that I may not put it in at all.

Maybe I could try to do something unique on the outside of the tank with it...I don't know.

Other questions...

Would it create too much of a dead spot on the under gravel filter? (I am not sure if I will be using the UGF, as I want plants. But I would like to know all the facts about the petri. wood, in case things change.)

Well, I suppose it would help if you knew it's dimensions...hold on while I go measure...

 

[LifeBear]

Well, it's about 6" x 6" on the bottom, to extend my dead spot question.

However...I said it was about the SIZE of a bowling ball, because I was going on memory. Now that I went to see it's actual size and picked the thing up again...well, let's just say we'll be going with "something unique outside the tank."
The thing must weigh 25 lbs!

Thank you all for your advice, about weight and cleaning. All of it will come in handy in the future, I am sure.

The wood does look cool, but it has taken me so long to get a larger tank that I am not going to risk it. Tank health comes right after fish health on my list of priorities, THEN what I think looks cool...

 

[sammydee]

It'll be fine if you re-inforce the bottom with eggcrate. Don't give up, a piece of wood that big would look absolutely awesome. Egg crate is dirt cheap anyway.

You would want to soak it in the bath for a good few days to get the tannins out.

 

[LifeBear]

As far as I know it came from this guy's front yard. Just kidding, really I don't know where he got it originally. He picked it up from his yard when I said I was interested.

I haven't made the final decision. It needs to be cleaned, no matter what.

I am not even sure it is petrified wood. I am not a geologist. It looks like wood, feels like stone, is about 6" x 7" x 8", and weighs about 20 pounds (I don't have a scale handy.) I have a HUNCH it's petrified wood. But I don't know how common it is in NE Mississippi (not very, I'd wager). I know it did not ORIGINATE in Tim's yard, but have no clue about any other location.

 

[colegamby]

ive got lotsa pieces of petrified wood. although i didnt get them for my fish tank. there are a few places out west which are petrified forests. you can get a good chunk of petrified wood for fairly cheap out there. i have a pretty big chunk that was like 5 dollars. if it looks like a piece of wood then it is most likely petrified wood.

 

[Inchworm]

The thing is that it doesn't really look like wood, it looks more like beautiful stone. I have a small piece that is a lovely red color and looks great in my tank. Petrified wood is ancient, and is created much the same way dinosaur bones are preserved.

I don't think it needs more drastic cleaning than any other rock you might pick up in the area. A good scrubbing and boiling for a half hour or so should kill anything on it.

Does it look like it could be broken into smaller pieces?


LifeBear, if you live in Mississippi, I doubt that you will have to worry about the Rangers coming to get you. But now, if you had said you live in Arizona.........

 

[avirex]

hey did that turn ur water green cus others on here insist it turned my water green...