Would This Be Safe

[chrisrm]

i was walking along the river today and saw loads of sumerged old twisted oak branches, i draged some out and after a closer inpectionb thought they would be great for my tank

i then looked at the river bed and thought that would look great in my tank too. maybe a sand subtrate with lots of small rocks and some bigger ones

is there any reason i cant use theese materials for aquascaping? i would obviously clean them thorughly before putting them in there

 

[Lawdy Lu]

i was walking along the river today and saw loads of sumerged old twisted oak branches, i draged some out and after a closer inpectionb thought they would be great for my tank

i then looked at the river bed and thought that would look great in my tank too. maybe a sand subtrate with lots of small rocks and some bigger ones

is there any reason i cant use theese materials for aquascaping? i would obviously clean them thorughly before putting them in there

Hey! The only thing I would be concerned with is the branches. Driftwood that has been submerged will still absorb any potential pollution that has(hopefully not) been in that stream. Even though oak is a hardwood, a dead, submerged branch may still absorb toxins. Maybe putting the branch or piece of wood into an empty, cycled tank for a week or so, and then testing it, or seeing if bacteria or mold begins to form might be a good idea. Good luck!

Lu

 

[Katty]

I think there's no problem with using outdoors objects, as long as you inspect them and clean them as well as you can, with boiling water and salt perhaps. Just check around the area to make sure there isn't a storm drain let off around dumping oil or who knows what into the water.

And don't take too much stuff or you could be ruining homes and materials for animals who naturally live there. A couple branches and a bucket of substrate shouldn't hurt though.

The oak might have trouble sinking and could turn fuzzy and rot after a while but you'd just have to check and remove it if it starts to go bad in the tank.

 

[chrisrm]

the river in question is very clean its in dartmoor national park so no manmade polutants there i hope

 

[Gankutsuou]

the river in question is very clean its in dartmoor national park so no manmade polutants there i hope

Do not EVER use substrate from a river unless you plan to re-create that habitat from fish from it. (This is my strong opinion for substrate from places).
It might depend on what it is though. Sand/mud - I'd say no. Gravel - You can probably clean this to a point where you can use it

They can be contaminated from a number things. Everything from pesticide to soap. Pesticides are used almost everywhere and creep into everywhere! Even a national park will have these!

As for wood, a good boiling is fine, it takes about 2-3 hours total of boiling for 2 days if you really want them in (mainly so they'll sink and stay sunk! But also to get unwanteds out. 2-3 times will help get some chemicals out too)

 

[squiggley]

I used some substrate which came from a stream on Exmoor, the kids bought some home in a bucket.





It was washed, boiled and then baked in the oven

 

[chrisrm]

the river in question is very clean its in dartmoor national park so no manmade polutants there i hope

Do not EVER use substrate from a river unless you plan to re-create that habitat from fish from it. (This is my strong opinion for substrate from places).
It might depend on what it is though. Sand/mud - I'd say no. Gravel - You can probably clean this to a point where you can use it

They can be contaminated from a number things. Everything from pesticide to soap. Pesticides are used almost everywhere and creep into everywhere! Even a national park will have these!

As for wood, a good boiling is fine, it takes about 2-3 hours total of boiling for 2 days if you really want them in (mainly so they'll sink and stay sunk! But also to get unwanteds out. 2-3 times will help get some chemicals out too)

sorry i ment just the gravel pebbles and rocks and put it on a brought sand substrate

as for the wood some bits are big like 4-5 ft so would very hot water do in the bath and just keep topping it up when it cools?

 

[Dorkhedeos]

the river in question is very clean its in dartmoor national park so no manmade polutants there i hope

Do not EVER use substrate from a river unless you plan to re-create that habitat from fish from it. (This is my strong opinion for substrate from places).
It might depend on what it is though. Sand/mud - I'd say no. Gravel - You can probably clean this to a point where you can use it

They can be contaminated from a number things. Everything from pesticide to soap. Pesticides are used almost everywhere and creep into everywhere! Even a national park will have these!

As for wood, a good boiling is fine, it takes about 2-3 hours total of boiling for 2 days if you really want them in (mainly so they'll sink and stay sunk! But also to get unwanteds out. 2-3 times will help get some chemicals out too)

sorry i ment just the gravel pebbles and rocks and put it on a brought sand substrate

as for the wood some bits are big like 4-5 ft so would very hot water do in the bath and just keep topping it up when it cools?

Just boil the substrate, everything nasty that you dont want in your tank will die from that. If you are worried about pesticides, let it soak in a bucket of water for a week or 2.

 

[chrisrm]

I used some substrate which came from a stream on Exmoor, the kids bought some home in a bucket.





It was washed, boiled and then baked in the oven

thats exctly the sort of look i am after
this is the wood i picked up today

My wife is not impressed and will be inspecting the bath when i am done!