Driftwood

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
L

lukester825

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2007
279
0
0
Nashville
Does anyone know much about getting your own driftwood? We went out fishing and driftwood "hunting" today and found a nice root piece. The only problem is it was attached to the rest of the tree. It appears to have been in the water a long time, but we broke some of it off for transport and it was hard and pink inside and smelled a bit strong of cedar. It was very tough to break as well. So i was wondering what are the guidelines or rules of thumb to consider before we put it in? Should i be worried about oils or animals or anything?

Here's a couple pics, my friend towed it about a mile, haha. Took him about an hour to get it back to the car. the last picture is for all the jimmy houston fans. we only caught two white bass and a crappie

P1120080.JPG

P1120097.JPG

P1120099.JPG

P1120045.JPG
 
The tree does look like cedar too.. not a good choice for your tank. The smell you noticed is the 'extratives' that make the cedar naturally durable, by killing any bug that tries to eat it. Can be toxic to fish as well. :eek:

Pity, because it's a great looking lump of wood :(

Ian
 
Ianab;1419188; said:
The tree does look like cedar too.. not a good choice for your tank. The smell you noticed is the 'extratives' that make the cedar naturally durable, by killing any bug that tries to eat it. Can be toxic to fish as well. :eek:

Pity, because it's a great looking lump of wood :(

Ian
Click to expand...


dang!
i guess we'd have to leave it in the water for a while longer for it too be fish safe?
 
It's generally a good idea to use hardwoods. I will bake mine in the oven. Some say to do it at about 200 for quite a few hours (like half a day), but I prefer about 300-350 for a few hours, checking in on it every half hour or so. This kills off anything in it. Then I'll soak it in a filtered tank, doing daily water changes to remove all of the "leeching", which will turn your tank dark, and also to get it to sink. I've probably done 8 or 10 with no problems.
 
If you're wanting to use this particular piece, keep in mind what Ian said, as I don't think I've ever used cedar, and the fact that it still sounds like it's not completely dead wood.
 
I've never used cedar but several people sell it on aquabid and ebay so must be ok as long as it has been dead for a while.

Jamie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom