large fallen tree branches in tanks

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kroxabp

kroxabp

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2011
249
2
33
Aquarium Desert
ok so around my apartments the landscapers cut off some fairly large branches the fell with no leaves on them they are really solid thick tree branches i cant tell you the exact tree but i was wondering if i did the the soaking boiling process with them will they be safe for my 80gal.. they dont have any sap and they arent from a pine tree.. i live in vegas so getting to a lake or pond for actual driftwood is kinda out the question..
 
soak them, peel off the bark, and sand them down with some sand paper so you can get the real color of the wood with a nice finish, I say why not.
 
I am not the best on this topic but I was under the impression you needed to have the branch 100% dried out (nothing almost dead about it). I know a couple guys who put them in the sun for 8 months to a year so they dry out.Then soak, etc... I could be wrong though.

Interested to see what others say
 
In your area, do they spray for any kind of insect, or tree disease? You might want to find that out before adding it to a tank. I use logs from trees in my own yard, but I don't spray. I soak them in a barrel or tub for a few months before using. They will float unless weighed down with bricks and such.
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duanes said:
In your area, do they spray for any kind of insect, or tree disease? You might want to find that out before adding it to a tank. I use logs from trees in my own yard, but I don't spray. I soak them in a barrel or tub for a few months before using. They will float unless weighed down with bricks and such.
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no there are no tree diseases that i kno of.. they do spray but they only bug spray around our buildings... i have been soaking them in my tub over night and scraping them and hardly releases and tannis but they are to big for me to boil on my stove
 
I have old dead & dry apple tree branches. I know they weren't sprayed.
Do they need lengthy soaking just to make them sink, or also to get past some decaying process?
 
never tried apple so can't speak to it, the heavier the wood, the easier it sinks. I 've had some woods sink in weeks, others it takes a year.
To test for sprays or other toxins, you may want to take some small (insignificant, maybe a feeder type) fish and put it in the soaking tub. If it's still alive in the morning, you could feel at least semi-secure about adding the log to the tank.
 
probably need to know what kind of tree it is before saying whether it is suitable, may end up rotting quickly if its not a hardwood. I've cut green teatree before and used branches and stumps that I've harvested myself. I hit them with the water blaster to get as much lose bark and dirt off as possible, let them dry out completely, and then soak them in an old unused swimmingpool at my folks place for a few months until they sink and have done most of their leeching. Not sure if you've got the space/resources to do that living in an apartment, but if you can and the wood is suitable then go for it.

A pic of the tree would help ID it?
 
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