Tree Branch In Fish Tank?

[whitmore1119]

so i was just ramdomly searching google and got on the subject of instead of buying aquarium wood/twigs from a fish shop could i just go to the local woods and bring a branch home? I know i would have to soak it under water for a while so im thinking i cud just chuck it in garden pond for a while? Has anyone approached this before and what was the out come?

 

[MBOU]

You can use wood, so long as you know what sort of wood it is! If you dont know... dont use it. You dont want to use anything evergreen.

Beech, oak, hazel and fruit tree like apple, plum, pear and cherry etc are good.

But you need to strip the outer bark of and you need to scrub it to within an inch of its life, not just soak it but scrub it! Then soak it... you can probably soak it in the pond if you want but it will go slimey and horrible and covered in algae and you will then need to scrub it again lol

 

[whitmore1119]

You can use wood, so long as you know what sort of wood it is! If you dont know... dont use it. You dont want to use anything evergreen.

Beech, oak, hazel and fruit tree like apple, plum, pear and cherry etc are good.

But you need to strip the outer bark of and you need to scrub it to within an inch of its life, not just soak it but scrub it! Then soak it... you can probably soak it in the pond if you want but it will go slimey and horrible and covered in algae and you will then need to scrub it again lol

so would it have to be live branch or dead? Im thinging live because if its fallen on the ground dead wont it b dry any brittle and easily snap?

 

[chigwellhammer]

But then if you go round pulling branches of trees you can be done for that lol

P.s dont forget to scrub!

 

[fluttermoth]

Wood that is long dead is best as it won't leach loads of sap and grow huge amounts of algae/fungus.

 

[BigTom]

Hi,

I've used oak, beech, hawthorn, heather and even spruce and ivy with great success. As long as the wood is very dead and nice and dry (not rotting) then it should be fine. I just give mine a quick scrub to remove any remaining bark or other soft bits and bung it in.

 

[whitmore1119]

Hi,

I've used oak, beech, hawthorn, heather and even spruce and ivy with great success. As long as the wood is very dead and nice and dry (not rotting) then it should be fine. I just give mine a quick scrub to remove any remaining bark or other soft bits and bung it in.

did it not grow any fungus or change ur water colour? Im glad to hear someone else has tried it and succeeded kinda gives me reassurance that it could work lol

 

[BigTom]

Hi,

I've used oak, beech, hawthorn, heather and even spruce and ivy with great success. As long as the wood is very dead and nice and dry (not rotting) then it should be fine. I just give mine a quick scrub to remove any remaining bark or other soft bits and bung it in.

did it not grow any fungus or change ur water colour? Im glad to hear someone else has tried it and succeeded kinda gives me reassurance that it could work lol

Some wood will grow a little bit of harmless white mould for the first week to two, but this actually seems more common with bogwood and other commonly traded 'aquarium' wood, than with stuff I've collected myself. And pretty much all woods will leak tannins to some extent or other. However, these are generally considered beneficial for many fish species, and if you don't like them they are easily removed with activated carbon or Purigen.

To be on the safe side though, try and get a species ID on any wood you do collect and do a bit of searching online for any negative reports before using it. Having said that, try just to go by first hand accounts, rather than people regurgitating the same old 'lore' ad infinitum.

 

[whitmore1119]

just to update i got me some twiggy branch bits of a dead oak tree, scrubbed n shaved most the bark of left some of the fragile end pieces, its now in my tank and looks great didn’t bother soaking it in the pond just put it straight in and wedged it down. its been in for nearly 2 weeks and looks great with no problems. thanks for all advice