# Driftwood questions??



## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

So heres the question, can you make driftwood out of semi freshly cut oak limbs about an inch or less in diameter. Ive made regular driftwood that you find in lakes and stuff but never straight from the tree any one with some experience on this subject feel free to give me some advise on if it will work and how to do it.:?:

Thanks, Ian


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you can do it....but just expect to have a lot of dead fish...wood needs to age for quite awhile before being safe for tanks..


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

What lohachata said. 

Driftwood needs to be wood that has been submerged for years typically. All of the sap and nutrients in the wood will seep into your tank and cause a lot of havoc.

If you're looking at driftwood, contact Rod @ www.thedriftwoodstore.com. He's awesome.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You could try boiling it for several days, yes, days, and it might work, but I'd boil it for a week and then throw it in a pond for another few months. Even then I wouldn't expect optimum results.


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

yeah i didn't think you could do it, just thought someone out there might know some magical way to make driftwood. just thew a weighted bundle of oak wood in my pond hopefully in 10 years it will make grate wood for my kids aquariums. haha!


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

i was just at elephant butte in NM and they just dredged the lake and had a bunch of water longed wood from the bottom of the lake laying on the shore and some good looking sections, i wounder if i go back thier would i be able to use some of that wood if i boiled it?


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

i dont see why not it depends what kind of wood it is


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

what kind of woods are good to use?


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

all hardwoods, oak elm etc. dont use woods that have sap like pine if your not sure what kind of wood it is let it dry and try to push a nail into it if it dents easily you have a softer wood that will decay faster in your tank. i have elm in my tank but if you want a lot of curvature in your wood id go with oak.


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

what about madrone its a really hard wood very good looking too, dark red and white in a marblized look but it can be a pretty sappy wood too, ive seen in it reptile tanks but not in fishtanks


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

if you boil it until the water you boil it in is clear it should be fine. also the areas where the roots were have less sap so try to find some bottom trunk/ root area. If you cant find that it will just need more boiling but in the end to answer your question...YES madrone is fine. if you have more questions feel free to ask.

good luck, ian


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