Woood Questions

[lyomat21]

if i found a nice paice of woood that i like and would like to have in my tank, is there anyway i can put it in or do i have to go and spend alot of money on certen wood at my lfs?

again sorry for all the questions guys just trying to lurn.

thanks again matt
(forgive spelling)

 

[ak>47]

no natural wood that you've collected is absolutely fine. But however wood, when in water will leak a product called tannins, which will not effect your fish. However you'll need to soak it in boiling water water for a day or two to remove the bulk of the tannins as if you put it directly in the aquarium, the water will turn into a dark yellowish tea colour.
And you don't need to spend a lot of money at the ifs as what you've got will do.
Good luck!

 

[fifefish]

thats not the case,
most wood used in aquariums are just roots or bark
they are specific to aquariums because they don't rot away like normal wood,
you will have to watch out for fungi and tree sap because these can have bad effects on the water chemistry in your tank..

 

[lyomat21]

thats not the case,
most wood used in aquariums are just roots or bark
they are specific to aquariums because they don't rot away like normal wood,
you will have to watch out for fungi and tree sap because these can have bad effects on the water chemistry in your tank..

ok 2 different sides, anyone els have there oppinion on this?
thanks though guys

 

[fatheadminnow]

I have to agree more with fifefish, however what ak>47 said is true as well.

Like stated above, wood that is "meant" for aquariums are usually roots and what not, wood that has been in water already.

If you pick wood up off the ground, that has not been submerged in water yet, you are going to risk the wood rotting over time in your tank, and fungi and what not as well.

What should I do if I find a piece of wood that I want to put in my tank.

First, shake, brush, whatever you have to do to get any loos wood off of the wood.

Second, boil the wood for sometime. When I bought a piece of wood for my tank, I boiled it for 3 days, and soaked it in water for 2 weeks. Boiling the wood is going to make the piece of wood become water logged faster, which will allow it to sink to the bottom, and it will leak out tannins faster.

What are tannins exactly?

Tannins, are a natural extractive from wood, which will leak out of the pores in the wood when the wood becomes submerged in water. The color of tannins is usually a brown/yellow/gold color, like a tea color. Tannins are NOT harmful to fish by any means, and some fish will actually like the tannins in the tank.

After I have soaked the wood for a couple of weeks, and boiled the wood, and placed it my tank, why is the water still turning brown?

Even after soaking the wood, and boiling a lot, there are still tannins that wili most likely going to leak out into the tank for sometime, although it may not be that much.

The only way to get tannins out of the water effectively it by water changes, and by carbon, or something similar to carbon added to the filter.

After an "X" amount of time, the tannins will stop leaking out, and your tank will be clear.

-FHM

 

[ak>47]

thats not the case,
most wood used in aquariums are just roots or bark
they are specific to aquariums because they don't rot away like normal wood,
you will have to watch out for fungi and tree sap because these can have bad effects on the water chemistry in your tank..

Fungi can be killed by adding the wood to 3 parts boling water 1 part of salt.
Although the salt will have to be removed. Thanks fifefish, i fogot, tree sap is best avoided as this will increase the ph greatly.

 

[Darkstar]

no natural wood that you've collected is absolutely fine

Some wood is quite poisonous ( I think silver birch might be one) You'll need to check what type of wood you have collected and whether it is safe to use.

 

[azzaknight]

i also agree with fifefish.
although buying wood from the shop is obviously more expensive than just picking bits up put side, the wood brought from shops is a much safer option. you wouldnt want to put abit off wood you found outside in there and a few months later the tree sap leaks out and all your fish die off. buying wood from the shop is a better idea as it is specificly made for tanks as it doesnt have any sap or other stuff that may cause your water parameters to change. yoou could use wood from outside but its best not to take the risk.
hope i was a help

 

[fatheadminnow]

If you live near a river, lake or stream, you can go there and look for trees that have their roots submerged, get a wood saw and cut some roots out.

That way this would be safer than just picking wood off of the ground because those roots are already submerged, probable will not leak any tannins, and will lack in tree sap because they are roots.

Try to get the bigger roots, you can probably fine some like 4 or so inches in diameter.

Just a thought.

-FHM

 

[lyomat21]

If you live near a river, lake or stream, you can go there and look for trees that have their roots submerged, get a wood saw and cut some roots out.

That way this would be safer than just picking wood off of the ground because those roots are already submerged, probable will not leak any tannins, and will lack in tree sap because they are roots.

Try to get the bigger roots, you can probably fine some like 4 or so inches in diameter.

Just a thought.

-FHM

i accuily live right around the block from a river and pond. ill go check it out soon maybee i can find some coool lookin roots to use. thanks for the advice everyone

 

[Amunet]

You could always try to get some mopani wood off the net. I bought 2 pieces (1 large 1 medium) for $35 dollars.

 

[fatheadminnow]

You could always try to get some mopani wood off the net. I bought 2 pieces (1 large 1 medium) for $35 dollars.

That is the kind of wood I have as well, I like the colors and characteristic that the wood provides!

-FHM

 

[lyomat21]

You could always try to get some mopani wood off the net. I bought 2 pieces (1 large 1 medium) for $35 dollars.

That is the kind of wood I have as well, I like the colors and characteristic that the wood provides!

-FHM

ill loook up on mopani wood right now

since no one els is reallly helping on my other post, any of u guys no some types of loaches i can put in my 30 gal community tank?

 

[england]

this make's for good reading///// was taken from snakheadsuk forum<the writer live's up in scotland

"This is the list of wood that can be used in the aquarium and how to prepare it.

Firstly, make sure that they are from an area free of pesticides, fertilisers and main roads. Woodland is an ideal place to start looking but you should have landowner's permission to remove anything.

You can either use "green wood" collected off the trees and prepare them at home or lift dead wood from the ground. It's normally best to avoid wood from the ground that is soft, spongy or covered in fungi. Green wood should only be collected in winter months when there is less sap in the tree and the tree is not growing.

It is also possible to dig up old root systems but it is harder to ID the tree beforehand. These roots can be washed with a pressure washer (water only) to get rid of excess soil and rotting parts.

Then you can leave the roots and branches to sun dry or (UK weather) leave to dry in a garage or similar. This should last about three months. Then if the branch has bark; peel it off and soak the wood in a bucket for a couple of weeks. If you have a garden pond; throw it in there.

You will probably need to anchor the wood. A good method is to drill small holes to pass fishing line through and tie the wood to an ald fashioned roof slate. The slate is heavy and can be buried under the sand or gravel easily.

Leave them to soak for a week or two and clean off any mould that may grow in this time, if the mould re-occurs keep soaking until it stops growing.

Old brittle sticks can be used in the same manner but require longer to sink

Safe species:

Hawthorn
Blackthorn
Beech
Sessile oak
Red oak
Turkey oak
Alder cones

You can also use leaves for the substrate of the aquarium and are best collected during the early winter months. They need no special care other than collecting from a clean area and let them dry out for a week first. They normally sink within a day or two and look natural.

Beech are the longest lived under the water and produce the least amount of tannins

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