View Full Version : soaking bogwood: do you soak?
contender
11-08-2005, 7:49 AM
do you soak your bogwood ?
Depends on where I got it from, but yeah.. Usually.
FormulatedFire
11-08-2005, 10:08 AM
always just to make sure u get all the unhealthy chemicals out so it doesn't pollute your tank with anything that may leak out into your tank and harm your fish in the process
Anytime I use wood I boil then soak.
HarleyK
11-08-2005, 2:25 PM
Howdy,
I always boiled my driftwood. The piece I have in my current tank, however, was too big. It ended up being soaked in brine in my bath tub for a few days. Weighed down with rocks and turned over twice a day since the bath tub was too small as well.... After soaking in brine, I recommend soaking it in fresh water for a day or two.
HarleyK
Caveman
11-08-2005, 2:28 PM
One of my LFS owners had a piece of Cedar drift wood that he cut down to fit into a tank and the cedar seeped out and killed every fish in the tank. He didnt boil the wood or clean it thoroughly. He just rinsed it off and threw it into the tank.
No aromatic woods, you will never get cedar or yew or spuce treated enough to be safe.
contender
11-08-2005, 7:36 PM
nice info guys thanks!
what kind of natural chems does woods contain that are toxic?
HarleyK
11-09-2005, 10:51 AM
nice info guys thanks!
what kind of natural chems does woods contain that are toxic?
Howdy,
As guppy said, it's the aromatic hydrocarbons that your fish don't like. But you'd be able to smell these!
More than that, I'd be worried about rotting of wood that is not suited for tanks, though, e.g. fresh wood. That's a much bigger danger than coming acoss "toxic" wood.
HarleyK
mister malcontent
12-05-2005, 7:26 PM
Yikes,
I only rinse (thoroughly) bogwood and have started using locally found driftwood as I got tired of paying a fortune for "seasoned" branches from my lfs.Some great points there guys and as only recently added a piece I found at a nearby lake I'm going to do a water check in my S.A. tank.
Mister Malcontent
ramman
12-05-2005, 8:04 PM
always boil first and then soak for a few months to get rid of toxins and tannins !
HarleyK
12-06-2005, 3:06 PM
soak for a few months!
You are a patient man!