23 replies to this topic

[Golly]

my mate has given me a couple of untreated peaces of nice drift wood
i have put them just in a boiling hot bath but i dont now if this is what ur spose to do

so this is what i want to no

what do i treat the wood with?
how long will it take?
is boiling the wood right?

or just any other information you have

cheers

[smellsfishy]

i just left mine in the water for 4 days, changing the water every day.
hope this helps.

[ibm450]

could someone define DRIFT wood, what type of wood can and can not be used. i.e. jarrah? wood found floating at the beach? wood found at King Park?




cheers

[Golly]

im pretty sure it wood that has bin in a river

[golden_dase]

could someone define DRIFT wood, what type of wood can and can not be used. i.e. jarrah? wood found floating at the beach? wood found at King Park?

drift (drft)
v. drift·ed, drift·ing, drifts
v.intr.
1. To be carried along by currents of air or water: a balloon drifting eastward; as the wreckage drifted toward shore.
2. To proceed or move unhurriedly and smoothly: drifting among the party guests.
3. To move leisurely or sporadically from place to place, especially without purpose or regular employment


wood (wo̵od)

noun

1. a thick growth of trees; forest or grove
2. the hard, fibrous substance beneath the bark in the stems and branches of trees and shrubs; xylem
3. trees cut and prepared for use in making things; lumber or timber
4. firewood
5. something made of wood; specif.,
1. a cask or other wooden container for alcoholic liquor: whiskey aged in wood
2. woodwind instruments, collectively
6. Golf any of a set of numbered clubs, originally with wooden heads, having various lofts: the number 1 wood is usually called a driver (); the number 2 wood, number 3 wood, and number 4 wood are used for long, medium, and short fairway shots, respectively


So... drift wood in Aquarium sense means dead wood that's been floating/underneath water..

[ibm450]

Gezzz thanks heaps for the info, i feel so educated

Educated
educate ed"u*cate ([e^]d"[-u]*k[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Educated ([e^]d"[-u]*k[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
Educating ([e^]d"[-u]*k[=a]`t[i^]ng).] [L. educatus, p. p.
of educare to bring up a child physically or mentally, to
educate, fr. educere to lead forth, bring up (a child). See
Educe.]

To bring up or guide the powers of, as a child; to develop
and cultivate, whether physically, mentally, or morally, but
more commonly limited to the mental activities or senses; to
expand, strengthen, and discipline, as the mind, a faculty,
etc.; to form and regulate the principles and character of;
to prepare and fit for any calling or business by systematic
instruction; to cultivate; to train; to instruct; as, to
educate a child; to educate the eye or the taste.

Syn: To develop; instruct; teach; inform; enlighten; edify;
bring up; train; breed; rear; discipline; indoctrinate.
[1913 Webster]

-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Educated Ed"u*ca`ted, a.
Formed or developed by education; as, an educated man.
[1913 Webster]

-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

educated
adj 1: possessing an education (especially having more than average
knowledge) [ant: uneducated]
2: having or based on relevant experience; "an educated guess";
"an enlightened electorate" [syn: enlightened]
3: adequately educated in the use of numerical terms and
concepts especially in arithmetical operations

-- From WordNet ® 2.0

59 Moby Thesaurus words for "educated":
abreast of, abstruse, advanced, ameliorated, au courant,
autodidactic, beautified, bettered, briefed, civilized, converted,
critical, cultivated, cultured, deep, developed, discerning,
embellished, encyclopedic, enhanced, enlightened, enriched,
erudite, improved, informed, instructed, knowledgeable, learned,
lettered, literary, literate, pansophic, perfected, polished,
polyhistoric, polymath, polymathic, posted, primed, profound,
refined, reformed, scholarly, scholastic, schooled,
self-instructed, sensitive, studious, taught, trained,
transfigured, transformed, up on, up-to-date, versed,
well-informed, well-read, well-versed, wise

As obviously i understood what the hell DRIFT wood meant in the first sense, i wanted to know what type of wood!

so if i found a floating / a submerged maple wood or say submerged OAK or say bamboo or say untreated submerged PINE wood or say i found some sort of unknown soft lumber in the river, how would i know that would be appropiate to use in a tank and not poison or cause ill effect on the fish / tank / to the benificial bacteria.......etc etc

hmmm like i said before, gezzz i feel so much more educated by just repeating my own question!!!!

[Golly]

it is very similar to the pieses u buy at the shops all i want to now is how to treat it so i can put it into my bristle nose tank

if anyone has any other information please help

[golden_dase]

Well, you asked what drift wood was so I told you. It's dead wood that is found floating along rivers etc. It doesnt need to be a specific type of wood to be classified as drift wood.
And don't bloody show attitude around here mate, it won't get you anywhere.

[ibm450]

Well, you asked what drift wood was so I told you. It's dead wood that is found floating along rivers etc. It doesnt need to be a specific type of wood to be classified as drift wood.
And don't bloody show attitude around here mate, it won't get you anywhere.

well i did ask an innocent newbie question regarding what type of wood can be used and i didnt need an answer that made my question sound like it came from an year 1 student asking for some one to define exactly what wood and drift meant, so the attitude came from your direction first dude!


May life run through your veins peacefully....peace dude so theres no need for hostility / harsh comments to be made, i thought this was a family orientated forum.

[golden_dase]

I was having some light humour.. If you've been on this forum long enough, you'll find that light humour is what most members on here have...

[ibm450]

peace bro --- lub u long long time, fish on.....

[golden_dase]

It's all good mate..

Anyways, most "drift wood" can be used in the Aquarium as long as the environment that you got it from is quite clean. That's why most people "cure it" just to make sure, before putting it in their tanks..

Golly, most people soak their wood in a tub of water for days and even weeks to make it sink. Some even go to the extent as boiling the wood (ask permission from missus first to use her pots etc.) to kill off unwanted bacteria etc.

[ibm450]

oh ok, so to shed some light on this, the term 'driftwood' refers to dead wood which has been tossed and tumbled in water for some time, correct?

so then this dead wood, or drift wood is generelly waterlogged and therefore relatively easy to sink and in turn will leach a minimum of tannins into the tank water if im not mistaken which certain fish love.

i also understand that tannins will lower the ph to some degree. (by the way, would the use of OAK leaves be as good medium to use to soften the water like peat moss? i understand that certain fish love decaying oak leaves to nibble on.....)

so the term curing would be to say, boil or simmer the newly found driftwood for a number of long hours to allow the fresh hot water to be absorbed into the wood and hopefully kill some kritters through the process also. is there a faster method?

i see alot of interesting pieces of dead wood while i take the dog for a walk on the beach and alway ponder whether i could use that particular wood but refrain in using it as i have NO knowledge about the properties or make up of that wood that could spell disaster for my fish....

[golden_dase]

Pretty much, spot on! Not sure on the Oak leaf thingy though.. never tried it...
And if you've found a place to get wood which will look dynamic in an Aquarium, you can give them a good wash and sell them.. the nice pieces will be worth abit..

[anchar]

A few years back I posted a number of articles on this forum, including one on wood suitability. They seem to have vanished?

Andrea

[golden_dase]

No it hasn't vanished... it's in "articles": http://www.perthcich...?showtopic=5322

[werdna]

it is very similar to the pieses u buy at the shops all i want to now is how to treat it so i can put it into my bristle nose tank

if anyone has any other information please help

Ignoring the kids squabbling
I have always just left it soaking for a couple of hours in boiling water, or a couple of weeks in normal water.
Then just place it in the tank.
Dont treat it with anything.
You'll know if they BNs like it cos after a week you will notice a lot of really dark BN poo!

Andrew

[ciichlidsteve]

I agree. Boiling the wood for a couple of hours (time depends on the size of the wood), works for me and i have had no water dicolouration in the tank after that. Boiling IMO is better than soaking for a few reasons -

[/indent] 1. Bacteria and some bugs, worms etc can survive higher temperatures experienced through soaking, yet it is very rare for anything to survive the boiling process, yet this is only really a worry when you pick up your driftwood from the local estuary, beach etc... ,

[indent=1]

2. It means the wood is available for use in the aquarium that day, plus i dont think the missus would be too happy about me hijacking the bathtub to soak the wood for a few days/weeks .

I guess the downfall to boiling is that if you have a rather large piece its hard to find a big enough pot/pan or even heat source which in this case soaking is obviously the best method. I have often thought about boiling water and putting it over large pieces (too large to fit in a pot) in the bathtub and changing the water when it gets cold but this is obviously very wasteful with water usage but would be interested to hear if anyone else has any good ideas for larger pieces.

Cheers
Justin

[Midnite76]

I have been using wood in my tanks pretty much since I started.

I now have a 6x2x2 and have found a large root system and a hollow log, which I reckon will look great in the tank.

As with all my other large pieces I have left them soaking in a large tub of water, until the tannins have all leached out, changing the water once a week. Depending on the size of the wood pieces you have this can take months. My two pieces have been soaking for about 5 months and are finally ready to go in. All of the soaking occurs outside, in a 100l plastic tub, using cold, clean tap water. To date I have experienced no problems what-so-ever.

As long a the wood is dead and dry, and you have the patience, most pieces of wood can be used in your aquarium.

Good Luck

[Sazabi]

lol just read this post for the first time.....

nearly fell off my chair laughing at kev