Fumigated Driftwood...

[n-e-w-land]

Hi there,

I have just gone to my local garden centre and bought a nice big piece of driftwood for my tank. I was told that the wood was brought into the country from abroad and to stop any bugs from hitching a ride the wood was fumigated,I'm soaking the wood in very hot water at the moment but will the wood now be harmful to my fish? Also it currently floats how long do you reckon it will take to become saturated and sink by its self?

Thanks

 

[JakeH]

I have no idea whether or not it will ever be safe, but expect to soak the wood for several months to leach out all the insecticides & saturate it. I would be tempted to throw a small HOB on the container & fill it full of carbon to help pull the chemicals out of the water.... Otherwise, maybe find a way to seal the whole log so it can't leach? Epoxy? Fiberglas resin?

 

[n-e-w-land]

I just visited a aquarium driftwood website that said that all their wood is cleaned and fumigated, which I presume means that it is a process that does not leave harmful waste on the wood and safe for fish.

 

[zennzzo]

I just visited a aquarium driftwood website that said that all their wood is cleaned and fumigated, which I presume means that it is a process that does not leave harmful waste on the wood and safe for fish.

I would check to see if the place that imported your driftwood, uses the same process as the fish safe method...

 

[n-e-w-land]

I think they both use fumigation which basically means killing all the insects and paracites on the wood by enclosing it in a sealed space and fuming it with toxic gases, harmful at the time, but with no after affects, im not 100% sure though.

 

[Miguel4u2]

Buy a few goldfish/feeders and put them in a tank with the wood for a week just to be on the safe side.

 

[JakeH]

There you go^^. Throw some feeders in there & see if they last.

 

[Toby_H]

Fumigated could mean something as simple as putting it in a smoker... or encasing it in a room full of formaldehyde...

I would not make any assumptions in this case...

Although since you already have the wood... I would be willing to risk a few gold fish on it...

This really won't tell you everything though... as it's very possible that continued exposure could have deadly effects that the gold fish will not show in a few days/weeks time...

roll the dice and see what you get......

 

[n-e-w-land]

Do you think that its that likely to be harmful as I do have a spare tank thats gunna fit this wood in, plus surely the process of fumigation isn't going to vary much from case to case.

 

[rnocera]

It sure could vary. It all depends on what chemical they fumigated it with and how long it lingers. Since it's from a garden shop it could have been fumigated with something truly nasty, to help keep bugs out of it in your garden.

Without asking the supplier you'll never know. Also, I wouldn't put feeder goldfish in it- goldfish will live through anything. I'd try some guppies or something like that- cheap community fish that aren't quite as hardy.