Pine wood of aquarim decor.

[phillydog1958]

i can smell sugar does that mean it's toxic ?


no doubt the sap is potentialy toxic to fish (pine dust over time causes lung damage to people if inhaled) the thing is that in proper driftwood theres no sap left and so you have no problems

Your comparison of sugar to pine oil is a poor one because sugar is a nutrient that we consume. Plus, the body naturally uses sugar as a source of energy. How can it be toxic? Also, the aroma of pine is much stronger than that of sugar. That's ridiculous . . . Do not allow your desire for destructive debate to cloud your logic. Let it go . . .

 

[convicts94]

The reason Pine wood is bad for your tank is the sap and oils within the tree`s, pine have (one of) the highest contensts of sap. Pine is also the most used wood when producing Turpentine, becuase of it, pine sap is also antibacterial.
The process of extracting Turpentine from pine involves soaking the wood in water while warming it, then finnally boil the "liquid" to get pure turpentine. Basicly you would do the first step of the process in your tank. Not a good idea.

In general fruit tree`s a BIG NO asswell, many are downright toxic, fruit tree`s contain acids, desolvants and parrafin`s.

its not a fruit tree. they just named it purple leaf plum. It doesnt give plums, it only has leaves.

 

[Allan01230]

Don't use any type of pine wood. Not worth the risk. Too many good bogwoods available for cheap!

 

[knifegill]

I know that oak, hemlock (tree, not the plant), and apple wood are okay after boiling. Driftwood from the beach is okay if it is a small piece because it will leach salt and more into your tank. The best is river driftwood that is obviously many months old.

 

[kdrun76]

It it's not toxic then why can pine/cedar branches and shavings make animals such as reptiles and birds sick?

The chemicals in cedar are VERY harsh on respiratory system membranes. The cells that line the lungs and trachea are burned by the phenols and acids released by the cedar chips. Fish don't have the same types of respiratory tissues. I can't seem to find anything to back my thoughts up, but I don't think the phenols in pines will affect fish.


I have a HUGE piece of hemlock drift wood in my 210. It sat at the bottom of a lake for a LONG time before I brought it home though. No sap left in it.

 

[redtailshark1]

pine wood no way

 

[convicts94]

I know that oak, hemlock (tree, not the plant), and apple wood are okay after boiling. Driftwood from the beach is okay if it is a small piece because it will leach salt and more into your tank. The best is river driftwood that is obviously many months old.

i have a piece of wood i got from my yard. its called purple leaf plum. its not a fruit tree its just called purple leaf plum and it doesnt have sap at all. i dried it for 2 months last summer out side. And right now i left it to boil. will i be ok if i use it in my tank? thanks

 

[knifegill]

Honestly, I don't know about purple plum. I personally would boil it for many hours and try it with some guppies or less valuable fish first. But considering its fruit is edible and harmless, it is most likely that this wood is safe. I found nothing on the web indicating any toxicity from the sap or resin of this wood.



Found something negative:

[FONT=Times New Roman, Georgia,Times]The leaves, bark, seeds or pits of Prunus species are toxic, containing cyanogenic glucosides. The specific toxin amygladin is turned into cyanide in the body. Happily, amygladin levels are too low to be greatly consequential, is even less an issue with domestic versus wild species, thus most botanical prunus species are browsed by ruminants without serious risk.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Georgia,Times] http://www.paghat.com/italianplum.html

Stupid red font. Anyway, what I seem to be picking up here is that the cyanide is released in harmful form only when digested, and the concentration is very low.

[/FONT]

 

[kdrun76]

i have a piece of wood i got from my yard. its called purple leaf plum. its not a fruit tree its just called purple leaf plum and it doesnt have sap at all. i dried it for 2 months last summer out side. And right now i left it to boil. will i be ok if i use it in my tank? thanks

I suspect your biggest problem will be in getting it to sink. You may need to tie it to a big rock!