Getting Wood To Float

[Dave Spencer]

Tom, all the woods I mentioned are perfectly safe. Don`t let anyone restrict you to just bogwood and Mopani. The aquascaping community certainly don`t.

Dave.

 

[snowflake311]

Tom, all the woods I mentioned are perfectly safe. Don`t let anyone restrict you to just bogwood and Mopani. The aquascaping community certainly don`t.

Dave.

Yes some other woods are safe but like she was saying over time most wood starts to rot it is a fact of life. But it will take a long time. Most hardwood it will take up to 8 years. I lived near a swamp growing up and use to make log walk ways with fallin trees. It took a good 8 or more years for the wood to start to get soft and fall apart. Its been 18 years since we made these swamp walkways and some are still there but in bad shape. I'm sure in a controled environent like your tank it will take longer to rot. One reason no bugs or fungus to break it down faster.

The only reason "bogwood" it recomended is for reasons stated above about how it takes a crazy long time to start rotting. That's all. You can even use oak and a few other hardwoods. Bambo is great too.

I personal love my bogwood for the 2 tone color and it's rich redish brown color. I think it is pretty and my plecos love it.

 

[JustKia]

Dave, first do your research and second don't twist what I said.

I clearly stated that the type and condition of the wood to begin with will affect how long before it begins to break down in your tank.
And fact of nature is that any wood not preserved will begin at some point to break down (if you do enough research on the piece of wood you intend to use then you will know whether it is going to be safe long enough in your tank).

It's no good saying any wood is safe - what's happened to the wood before it goes in your tank?

If you don't know what wood it is or what has happened to it (treatments, etc) then it's best to play safe and use something that you can be sure isn't about to anhiliate your tank and inhabitants.

 

[Dave Spencer]

Dave, first do your research and second don't twist what I said.

I have used all the woods I have listed, apart from the Manzanita (a large box of which is on its way from the US), so I speak from experience.

It's no good saying any wood is safe....

How about you don`t twist what I said?

Most of the advice I give from experience, and a little of my own research. There always seems to be a little group of people on this forum who wish to do a little scaremongering based on hearsay, and not thier own experiences and research. Certain people would have us all restricted to forking out a fortune on bogwood and mopani from their LFS, when there are plenty of freebies below our feet, if we exercise a little common sense.

There is no point in scaring off people from using their own rocks, too. I do it all the time. It saves me a fortune. I am just glad that planted tank forums aren`t held back by these attitudes.

Dave.

 

[nosoup4you]

I have a piece of "driftwood" that has been in and out of various aquariums for nearly 30 years...no deterioration to speak of. There is also a fairly newly emerging industry based around reclaiming sunken logs and forests submerged during the building of dams. "Some dating back to 1050 AD" and are nearly identical in quality to freshly harvested timber. They are preserved by the cool water and lower oxygen content.

[URL="http/www.georgianbaywetwood.com/"]http/www.georgianbaywetwood.com/[/URL]

 

[saltynay]

Been wondering for a while now Why do you have a Escher drawing as your avatar?

 

[JustKia]

Dave,
At the end of the day it's not scaremongering - it's fact of nature, and it's not based on heresay either - it's fact of nature.
If you know what wood you have and know it's safe then go ahead and use it, if you don't know where it came from and what it's been used for in the past, then play it safe (just like when people are new to stocking and the 1" of small fish per gallon rule is used).

Good old fashioned common sense goes a long way.
I'm not saying that everything except bogwood is bad, I'm saying if you're not sure play safe.
Hardwoods that have naturally fallen into any anaerobic places will likely last a long time - but a lot of people don't know what type of wood they are picking up (not to mention it may have been treated with various preservatives (creosote, etc), resins, oils, varnishes and so forth).

And for what it's worth I have a planted tank (albeit low tech) I just happen to think it's worth any individual finding out what piece of wood (or rock) they have and finding out what it could do to their water chemistry first, rather than when it's too late.

 

[snoopy112567]

drill holes and stuff full of polystyrene?

edit - it would possibly have to be quite a bit weight of water dissplaced will have to be equal to weight of wood.

You could try putting as weight any stone that is not dye or colored for decoration. You could also buy any decoration for tank that has a whole in it just enough to place your wood.
_______________
Pretty Accessories