Branch treatment

[knifegill]

Smoke sediment is carcinogenic and filthy. You sure you want it in your tank?

 

[Confidence]

well i live in mn thinking about making a trip up to lake superior in duluth, massive lake, anyways bound to find drift wood there umm what is the treatment for that, to soak it can i just put it in my pool chlorine will kill everything in it then let it sunday for a day...? or how do i treat driftwood? or do you not recommend wild driftwood or should i buy it from a store.

 

[JakeH]

Smoke sediment is carcinogenic and filthy. You sure you want it in your tank?

Nope. But it's not going in my tank... It's going to be a waterfall/fountain-type thingy on my porch when I'm done with it. It's tough to describe without pics, but there will be a pump inside re-circulating the water & plants attached all the way down... It will be pressure-washed & sun baked before I start carving & maybe sealed somehow when I'm done. The main log/stump weighed 184 pounds when it went into the smoker.

 

[knifegill]

Nope. But it's not going in my tank... It's going to be a waterfall/fountain-type thingy on my porch when I'm done with it. It's tough to describe without pics, but there will be a pump inside re-circulating the water & plants attached all the way down... It will be pressure-washed & sun baked before I start carving & maybe sealed somehow when I'm done. The main log/stump weighed 184 pounds when it went into the smoker.

Oh, I understand now. Sound cool. Want pics when it's all set up.

 

[JakeH]

well i live in mn thinking about making a trip up to lake superior in duluth, massive lake, anyways bound to find drift wood there umm what is the treatment for that, to soak it can i just put it in my pool chlorine will kill everything in it then let it sunday for a day...? or how do i treat driftwood? or do you not recommend wild driftwood or should i buy it from a store.

Unless you need a huge amount of wood or just LOVE a particular branch, I would just buy it from the LFS. If you get smaller "boil-able" chunks, you can rearrange them anytime you want.

 

[pjsmetana]

What kind of tree is it? Some wood types are too soft/sappy or toxic for a tank... You'll probably have to do some research to make sure that wood is ok, but the bark should be stripped before you prep the wood any further. If you use a metal trash can, you can put the rest of that downed tree to good use as firewood to boil the water in the trash can for a few hours--it'll get rid of a lot more sap & lower the risk of bringing "nasties" into the tank. If not, I would strip the bark, then soak it in a trash can full of chlorinated tap water & table salt for at least a week (in the sun), changing the water every day at first, then every few days after that. When the water stops turning brown, check the wood to make sure all the sticky sap is off the surface, then set the branch out in direct sunlight for another few days to dry.
....

+1. A very big +1 sir.

 

[Tropicalfishking]

I have some Rhododendron branches that i got from my back yard that have been there for 4ish years. Not on the trees though, on the ground, and I think they are completely dry all the way through, and not rotten. Are these safe to put in my fishtank?