kinds of wood to use

[benito1188]

what kind of wood are prefered or allowed to be used in fish tanks?? like someone told me, grapes are not suitable.

i know there are malaysian wood, bog, etc

but what else can i look for? avoid? like when im walking at a park and see a piece, how can i tell if its suitable? for example: are coconuts, palms, etc are recommended? thanks

 

[oOMO3NOo]

well im not one hundred percent sure caz i can get malaysian wood for cheap around here but i have heard if you put viniger on the wood (or rocks for that matter) and it does not bubble then its ok to CLEAN and use and to clean im sure you know about this but boil it and all that stuff.

now im not for sure on this so if you do it and somthing bad happens.......well not my fault so hopefully someone else will add there 2 cents caz i would like know if this is true.

 

[schaadrak]

Try to stay with hardwood species like oak. Stay away from the pines and firs since these have toxins in their sap that is harmful to fish and inverts.

Also grapewood is safe as long as you use the older pieces. The younger pieces are safe to use, but they will rot away fairly quickly. Young pieces are a tannish yellow, are fairly smooth and unuiform in color and shape. Older pieces are a mixture of pale tan and brown and have lots of bumps and knots.

This is old grapewood that has been soaking in my pond on and off for the past year with out any problems:

Most of the grapewood sold for terrariums is young grapewood.

 

[benito1188]

schaadrak thanks for that info! ive always think grapes are cool looking and il think il try to find me a nice old one. if i find one on random...how do i treat i properly?

 

[WyldFya]

Vinegar works on rocks, not on wood. For driftwood, avoid soft woods and evergreens. Palms would be a bad choice as well. If you intend to find your own, you will want to cure the wood first. A search of MFK for bake and driftwood should yield some good results.

 

[oOMO3NOo]

well thats good to know about viniger and wood. but i guess it makes since the wood would soke up the viniger?

 

[WyldFya]

well thats good to know about viniger and wood. but i guess it makes since the wood would soke up the viniger?

Wood will have some amounts of tannic acid, and along with another acid (vinegar), there will be no reaction. However strong bases, like many minerals found in rocks, in high enough amounts will react with vinegar causing bubbling, or co2. Such as baking soda, and vinegar.

 

[Knowdafish]

Mopani wood looks the coolest and holds up the best in my opinion.

 

[benito1188]

Mopani wood looks the coolest and holds up the best in my opinion.

what does it look like? and where can i find/get it?

 

[schaadrak]

Mopani wood looks similar to grapewood, but with more bumps and knots in it and it has more branching than grapewood. I had to actually build that piece that I've got to make it look like it was branching. It's also a lot denser than grapewood.

Do a search on ebay for driftwood and mopani. You'll get plenty of great pieces to choose from.