Wood Collection

[ghent_3rd]

I really want a good load of wood for the new tanks that I am setting up and although I have an LFS that sells really good wood at quite reasonable prices, I would like to collect my own and save £20-£30 in the process!! I live close to a river but I am in the city centre and the river does not look the cleanest so would be reluctant to use any from there!! Would it be safe to use wood collected from underneath trees in parks and woods? I know it has to be dead and de-barked, just wondering what is and isn't safe. All responses appreciated.

 

[Ben M]

I have recently collected some beech wood for my tanks. When you are collecting wood you need to be sure that no chemicals (weed killers etc.) have been sprayed on it (this can be the case in some parks), and the wood isn't near a road. I know that beech is safe, but I'm not sure about others, although I think beech looks great anyway. I prefer to use live wood, that has been blown/snapped off the trees in bad weather (don't vandalise). In winter it is fine to use live wood, as long as you prepare it properly. I prefer to use live wood, as it is soooo much easier to debark; the bark comes off in strips, but with dead wood you have to hack at it for ages. Also, if you collect wood from trees and not ponds/waterways, then there won't be any aquatic hitch hikers. when you have debarked and scrubbed the wood, soak it in water for a few weeks (the longer the better) changing the water daily, to remove any sap etc. You can speed up this process by boiling the wood occasionally. When it has been soaked for weeks, give it a good clean, and put it in the tank.

BTW, don't use any chemicals at any point, as bleach etc. will kill your fish.

cheers

 

[ghent_3rd]

Awesome, thanks very much

 

[Monty-2010]

I have a nice big pice of wood in my tank that i found in the woods, normally in the woods your less likely to find chemicals than in parks and fields... It was a dead branch, the bark came off quite easy once i'd soaked it for a few days in boiling water. I think that's the key soaking and cleaning it properly before adding it to your tank.

 

[ghent_3rd]

I have recently collected some beech wood for my tanks. When you are collecting wood you need to be sure that no chemicals (weed killers etc.) have been sprayed on it (this can be the case in some parks), and the wood isn't near a road. I know that beech is safe, but I'm not sure about others, although I think beech looks great anyway. I prefer to use live wood, that has been blown/snapped off the trees in bad weather (don't vandalise). In winter it is fine to use live wood, as long as you prepare it properly. I prefer to use live wood, as it is soooo much easier to debark; the bark comes off in strips, but with dead wood you have to hack at it for ages. Also, if you collect wood from trees and not ponds/waterways, then there won't be any aquatic hitch hikers. when you have debarked and scrubbed the wood, soak it in water for a few weeks (the longer the better) changing the water daily, to remove any sap etc. You can speed up this process by boiling the wood occasionally. When it has been soaked for weeks, give it a good clean, and put it in the tank.

BTW, don't use any chemicals at any point, as bleach etc. will kill your fish.

cheers

Thanks very much, so basically once you have gotten the "live" wood, you have to de-bark it, make sure that is fully dead through boiling/soaking etc and then it is OK to go in??

I am going to get stuck into a aprk that has a natural stream running through it and a really nice old wood that is quite close to me to get some good pieces for my new tanks that I am setting up in a couple of months time. All very exciting!!