# Wood



## Nameless (Jan 8, 2012)

First of all, I love to see pictures of aquariums and terrariums with wood in them. So if you have a tank with some in it and you are dying to show it off, you have a very willing viewer right here. Post away.

I was wondering how to go about adding wood to a tank. I won't be able to go about that for a while since my betta still lives in a bowl, but I'd like to plan ahead. Is it only driftwood that can be used in fish tanks? Because that is in rather short supply around here.  And driftwood from what types of trees? I have read that my hermits cannot have any pine or... cherry? I can't remember which ones, but they can't have that kind of wood in their tank. Are fish the same way? Are there woods that should never be put in a fish tank?


----------



## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Driftwood is generally the first choice because it has already been waterlogged at some point. Especially if you can find some at an aquarium store, that has probably already been treated and is water-ready. 
There are some "backyard" trees that you can use wood from, but honestly, I couldn't tell you which ones. I do know that any tree that is known to be smelly is probably a bad choice because there are oils and substances in the wood that will leach out - so yep, pine, cherry, and cedar are not good.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I have malaysian driftwood in my 5g. It sank right away, and after boiling it about 4 times it didn't tan the water at all.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i use a number of kinds of driftwood but hx is right : any kind of wood that is smelly has oils that can kill the fish...most shops and even online stores will carry mopani or malaysian driftwood..i have never boiled my driftwood ; only hosed it off with hot water.


----------



## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

Grape vine is also a good choice but you need to make sure it is well seasoned an d is a bit tough to get it to sink at first

Here is a very large grape vine "stump" in my 110 gallon discus tank


----------



## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

Loha in the center it's hard to see, but I see a tetra. What species is it?


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

red phantom tetra..


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I go to the American River and grab some out of the water. It took over 6 months for it to sink, but it is pretty in my tanks now.


----------



## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

I've bought and used the maylasian "high priced" driftwood., then while in Phoenix, a while ago, I got some great pieces of grapevine wood off the desert floor. Yeah, it was very hard to get it to sink, so I just piled rocks on it. After a couple years in the tank, it would sink. Years later it deteriorates and eventually "dissappears". It rots away and gets vacuumed up. My plecos seemed to love it. Now I go to the local rivers up here (Alaska) The rivers are clean and there are no contaminates in the water, so the wood you pick up on the banks is pretty "pure" so I rinse it and throw it in the tanks. Most of that wood is birch. I won't use the spruce wood as it is like mentioned above, has alot of sap in it. So , as a rule, I'd say stay away from softwoods and go for the harder woods. I think that's a good generalization


----------



## Nameless (Jan 8, 2012)

8O So pretty.... Goodness, I wish I lived near a river. Or... A clean one anyways. WAIT! There is a creek, maybe I can find some there!

Say I actually miraculously discover driftwood out in the world, how will I figure out what kind of wood it is? That probably sounds like a stupid question if you've seen a lot of driftwood before, but I haven't really. There is some pretty twisted types at a beach somewhere around here, but I don't think it is legal to take any...


----------



## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

ain't nothing illegal until you get caught!


----------

