Wood......

[livelymc]

Can I go looking in the woods for dead bits of wood for my tank is there a procedure for making the wood safe. Are there any I shouldn't use and could u name a few. Is oak ok loads of awesome bits of potential drift wood jus want to know is it safe

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[LNC]

Absolutely! Look for hardwood like Oak,maple, Birch, Mahogany ect. Avoid softwood like Pine, Fir, Cedar ect. It rots quickly. The easiest way to prepare it is to just clean it up with a good scrub brush. Remove any moss or lichens and then soak it in your bathtub and change out the water every few days. That's how I prepare mine for my Discus, so far so good!. I have read that you can boil or bake it as well, I've never done it that way but there is a plethora of information on it. Make sure that you are using dead wood NEVER live. I usually soak mine about a month or so... it really depends on the wood and how much tannins you want to remove. I like the tannins and so do my Discus so that's never really an issue for me but there are a lot of people who find the amber water colour really unsightly. I hope that helps a little. Here is a link with some info on tannin if you scroll down a bit there is a section on wood and water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin

Gook luck!