Treated Wood

[King Edward]

If I used that green treated wood to make a solid walled structure then fiberglassed it it should be fish safe? What you think? I can get it untreated but its pine and leaks loadsa sap and bends a bit... Would it destort if they were firmly attatched in place?

I have had one untreated 4by4 lying in around for months now and it hasnt warped much...the 2 by 4s warped beyond use!!!

I can get the 4 by 4s relatively cheap, and am thinking of using them like the guy in the thread below uses the 2 by 4's...what do you think treated (possibly toxic) or untreated possibly warp...

 

[mdb_talon]

Treated or untreated they will all warp as moisture levels change. In many cases the treated will warp more (though often takes a bit longer). In general treated is not recommended for indoor use other than very limited use like sill plates. Especially if this is older pressure treated wood (more than a few years old) it was likely treated with arsenic and can be harmful I would not want a whole structure of it in an enclosed space. The fact that you mention "green" just means it is still wet. Pressure treated wood turns a brown/grey color once it has dried. If it still green that means even more likely to warp as it dries.

It should not leach through the fiberglass into the tank though if that is the concern.

Also 4x4 is generally going to warp a lot more than a 2x4. If you want something that will not warp much the main thing is to try to find the driest pieces of wood you can find.

 

[King Edward]

Arsenic you say? Mmmm, nice. Women use to drink arsenic to give themselves a pretty pale complextion!

What's CLS treated with? Is that toxic too?

 

[TheFishJunky]

they dont use arsinic to treat wood anymore.they banned its use b/c of children being poisened by it etc.the new pt wood is no longer as good for use as its intended but that has nothing to do with fish so........good luck Oh,nobody knows what they use now to treat the wood so its probably even worse(chemical wise)BUt,as mdb said,it would be safe if its coated in fiberglass since the wood is no longer exposed anyway at that point

 

[Muske]

All green treated dimensional lumber and plywood is treated w/a "safer" chemical. The use of arsenic is prohibited by law. The CCA or arsenic treated is still avail. but is limited to roof blocking and some agricultural products. If you are going to seal it with fiberglass it should be safe. I am not 100%, but seems like there would be no leaching of chemicals into the water column.