pine driftwood question

catfishguy

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 25, 2014
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moon
Hey guys I was wondering if pine or ceder could be used as in an aquarium. I have a really cool piece of driftwood that I had to cut and when I did it stunk of pine. So is pitch bad? And it only stated to smell after I cut it. If it is a problem then how would I get the pitch out?
 

erik333

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2014
57
3
8
Pennsylvania
I have not heard of using either but doesn't mean its not possible. not sure if you googled this? I would think cedar would be a better choice than pine but that's just a thought. You could set up a 5 or 10 G tank and put a piece in and the add a fish or 2 and see what you get?
 

Andre7

Feeder Fish
Nov 19, 2014
1
0
1
Ontario
I've read up on this, and myself have cedar soaking right now.
I read that it's totally fine as long as you know it's been well soaked/aged, and there's no resin leaching out anymore. Many people used cedar, without problems. Though it isn't a hardwood, it's quite dense and holds well long-term in water (many cedars are bog/wetland trees). Not sure about pine, though... I imagine that because it's a softwood it'll break down more quickly, but that doesn't mean it's not fine for the shorter term.

Going to test mine in a 20 gallon tank with a few small fish hopefully...
 

Aquanero

Global Moderator
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Feb 16, 2009
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New Jersey
I wouldn't attempt pine. Cedar however I would think could be used but I never tried it. In South Jersey there are plenty of Iced Tea colored lakes that are stained from cedar. In Forked River there are three lakes that are cedar lakes that hold pickerel, bass, perch and sunnys. I fished them many times the water is so dark visibility is only a couple of feet.
 
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