Can i put any type of wood in my tank?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


ismellfishy
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:37 am

Can i put any type of wood in my tank?

by ismellfishy

or does it have to be the driftwood that they sell in fish stores? I have some cool dried branches that would look sweet with moss on it but i'm not sure if a different type of wood could do damage to the water. What do you guys have to say?


jweb
 
Posts: 318
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:45 am

by jweb

you can use any wood, just make sure you boil the hell out of it. Boil it for hours then pour out the tannin stained water and boil it again, do this until the water isn't turning brown anymore. If you don't your tank water will be brown, and you could introduce something unwanted into your tank. If the piece is too large, well. I guess your out of luck on boiling it. So just make sure it has been out of water for a while and there is no chance of bad stuff being on or in it.


ismellfishy
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:37 am

by ismellfishy

Thanks, that makes sense.


tomargir
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:18 pm

by tomargir

I still prefer to use tank-proof ornaments of any kind. There are certain bacterial spores that can survive the boiling process. I know that this would be rare, however i prefer to be on the safe side always.
Another thing to consider is the fish you want to keep. Driftwood (even after being treated) will release some tanins in the water making it a little acidic and giving it a brownish coloration. This is fine if you want to keep new world cichlids or fish from the amazon river. Driftwood is also a favourite of the plecostomus species (they pass most of the time chewing on it).
So, as you understand, your question is very generic for a concrete answer. Write what kind of fish you want to keep and what kind of habitat you want to create in your tank.

Can i put any type of wood in my tank?

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