# Another driftwood id please



## Brendannn209 (Sep 12, 2018)

Hi all found this site looking for some info on my driftwood. I’m simply trying to find out if it’s a safe species to put in a fish tank. Any help is appreciated


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

If it is real driftwood off the saltwater beaches ,I would not recommend it, it will be saturated with salt. If it is from freshwater, I would think twice as to what might be growing in the wood that would harm the fish. What ever is in the wood will keep growing and multiplying, and might be a fungus or pollutant or insects that could hatch and infest your house., who knows what. Myself I would stick to artificial trappings in a fish tank.

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for posting pictures.
Herb


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Another driftwood id? Even tho you have only one post, that implies to me you have posted here before. And if so, joined before. You only need to join once.

You can take Herb's advice (advised), or just stick one in a fish tank and see what happens. Me, I can't think of any wood I would stick in a fish tank with fish.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Why would you think this??? I don't understand but I have led a sheltered life. :wink:

"Quote"

Another driftwood id? Even tho you have only one post, that implies to me you have posted here before. And if so, joined before. You only need to join once.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

JOAT said:


> Another driftwood id? Even tho you have only one post, that implies to me you have posted here before. And if so, joined before. You only need to join once.
> 
> 
> I had the same thought, I do remember awhile back a question similar to this of identifying a piece of driftwood. It is almost impossible to identify drift wood from a picture because it all looks the same, washed out and discolored, and distorted grain. It has to be exposed to raw natural wood by shaving and sawing both lengthwise and cross grain to reach a reasonable conclusion as to what it might be.
> ...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Brenda; I've done that and never had a problem...didn't care about the species of wood as long as it wasn't Cedar. And that was just erring on the side of caution. *What you do need to do is let the wood wash naturally for a loooong time!*
Leaving it in a 5 gal or preferably larger pail/barrel, out in the rain over the Winter should do it. Avoid any chemical cleaners!!! If you happened to have a fast moving stream on your property, that'd be perfect; in fact that's exactly where I went to find my driftwood in the first place. 
Salt is not a bad thing in a freshwater tank, in _very slight concentrations_.
If you're still concerned about organisms, your local aquarium shop has disinfectants, for want of a better word.
Personally Iwouldn't bother; wood is naturally antibacterial.
I believe the driftwood sold for tanks has been steam treated, but how on earth could you do that at home?
Any creepy crawlies still in the wood are fish food...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hi, again; I went looking for pics of natural driftwood, and found this article...
https://pethelpful.com/fish-aquariums/Driftwood-In-Aquariums

I'd forgotten all about the tannin thing.
Really good info in that article.


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## Brendannn209 (Sep 12, 2018)

Thanks for the positive help guys and to the guy thinking I’m making multiple accounts to ask the same question that’s just dumb. I googled driftwood identification and this site came up so I thought you guys might be able to help. I would simply ask again not make another account


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Brendannn209 said:


> Thanks for the positive help guys and to the guy thinking I’m making multiple accounts to ask the same question that’s just dumb. I googled driftwood identification and this site came up so I thought you guys might be able to help. I would simply ask again not make another account


Brenda; this thing about identifying driftwood comes up here once in a while. Theo's reaction wasn't intended to be offensive.
Here's the thing about 'driftwood'; it has no bark (likely), no, flowers, no fruit, and no tree or bush form. All or some of the aforementioned characteristics are needed for a casual ident. A wood lab would look at cell structure, and DNA for positive ID; and you could go that route, but I'm guessing that it wouldn't be inexpensive!
For most purposes in woodworking, driftwood is just that. Here in the Pacific North West, beach driftwood has been bleached by the sun, soaked in salt water and scoured by sand; eventually it's reduced by nature to organic grit, just part of the beach environment.
I know some guys in my area salvage driftwood logs for firewood...no way in Hell would I let my chainsaw anywhere near that sand encrusted stuff! :surprise:


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Sorry; forgot to say I like your choice of driftwood! How big is your tank(s)?


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## Brendannn209 (Sep 12, 2018)

At the moment my biggest tank is only a 29 but I live in an apartment with unknowing landlords so I can’t go huge yet


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Ha! As a former landlord, you're busted!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Brendann the comment made about being a member under two user names is because we occasionally get spammers and trolls who do just that. You are the second person very recently to request a driftwood ID and the circumstances were extremely similar so it was just a bit suspicious but no worries. Welcome to the forum.

I was a logger in BC for 25 years and near the end of that time I worked for the BC Forest Service and needed to have a log scaler's license. This required that I be able to identify the local log species just by looking at the wood and I was quite good at that after looking at them while logging all the years earlier. Despite that knowledge there is only one local tree species that I can identify as driftwood and that is red cedar. Some of the others I might be able to identify if I cut an end off and the water, sun, and aging process hasn't altered the wood too much from the original state. As Dan's article said, don't use any softwoods. You might be able to tell if is a softwood by carving a decent sized chip out of it and smelling it to see if you get anything that resembles a Pine Sol smell. You might try boiling a small piece too and see if you get that smell that way. Boiling it would be more likely to release the resins inherent in conifers. If not then it probably is okay to use after following the rest of the instructions in the article.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

https://www.aquariumspace.com/threads/how-to-sterilize-driftwood.4060/


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Great link, Stick! Lots of good stuff in there as well as the comments.
I was thinking about the "bleach" part of the article, and it occurred to me that an excellent alternative would be H2O2...Hydrogen peroxide.
You can get it from the Hydroponics supply shops in 30% solution..._that is too potent_. A 1:10 dilution rate would give you pretty close to the drugstore stuff (3.5%).
Set up a narrow trough with plastic sheeting and soak the driftwood overnight. _Then_ do the clean water washing. 
Ain't nuthin' going to survive that!

_Do NOT get it on your skin at the undiluted rate! You will not be happy.
_


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> Great link, Stick! Lots of good stuff in there as well as the comments.
> I was thinking about the "bleach" part of the article, and it occurred to me that an excellent alternative would be H2O2...Hydrogen peroxide.
> You can get it from the Hydroponics supply shops in 30% solution..._that is too potent_. A 1:10 dilution rate would give you pretty close to the drugstore stuff (3.5%).
> Set up a narrow trough with plastic sheeting and soak the driftwood overnight. _Then_ do the clean water washing.
> ...


beauty supply outlets have up to 50% strength...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

The 30% stuff is around $25Cdn for 4 liters. That makes a lot of drugstore type solution.
Best part is after you're finished with it you water it down to about 1% and use it in your garden.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

50% can be had in 250ML sizes through up to 4L


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think you can buy the 50% up here. There was a major rethink, post 9/11, and what I heard was that there were security concerns about H2O2 being available as an ingredient for explosives.
At that time the hydroponic concentrate was being sold at a 35% rate, then they removed it and subbed the lower concentrate. But then it's Canada, any weirdness is possible...


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> beauty supply outlets have up to 50% strength...


Hmm, beauty supply outlets? And just 'why' is it you would know about beauty supply outlets?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

These aquarium landscapes are spectacular!
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/04/the-incredible-art-of-underwater.html


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

DaninVan said:


> These aquarium landscapes are spectacular!
> https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/04/the-incredible-art-of-underwater.html


Nice, but I think they would look much better in a terrarium, 

I'm old-fashioned, to me a fish tank should have the back painted blue, to look like deep water, some plants growing, sunken pirate ship, treasure chest with the lid going up and down releasing air bubbles, and colorful fish. Maybe a small castle, or other such ornaments.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Theo, those are growing aquatic plants; they can't live in air. That's why each of those pictures gives the period of planted growth. It's something like bonsai...constant maintenance, especially battling algae.
Those are living artworks.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Your wish is my command, Theo! 
You want castles?...


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Daggone, they sure look like painted landscapes to me, very realistic, didn't realize that could be done. Oh, I don't have a bonsai tree either.

But really like the castle, definitely my cuppa. Thanks.


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## regalcookkRegd34243242 (Jan 31, 2019)

The 30% stuff is around $25Cdn for 4 liters. That makes a lot of drugstore type solution.
Best part is after you're finished with it you water it down to about 1% and use it in your garden.


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## Arthurfarris (Sep 23, 2021)

I've tried Cholla wood, but over time it simply softened and rotted.
This Hamiledyi wood however is a hardwood and very beautiful. It's deep brown mixed with a light tan. I ordered two larger pieces and I stacked these smaller pieces together to make little places where my corydoras and bottom feeders can rest under the little places between the branches. I enjoy the look of the beautiful wooden decor and my rubber lipped pleco actually eats the wood as part of it's natural diet.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, @Arthurfarris ..


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Arthurfarris


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## Arthurfarris (Sep 23, 2021)

Driftwood is a great addition to my aquarium's ecology. But I couldn't afford commercial driftwood, so I made driftwood for my aquarium using driftwood I collected in the wild. I cleaned it in the following steps: First, I cleaned the driftwood that I found. Then soak them in a barrel of water for about two weeks to release excess tannins that cause the water to turn brown or slightly yellow. After removing the tannin, it is necessary to wash and boil the driftwood to remove the last remaining dirt. Finally, place the driftwood in the aquarium.


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## Arthurfarris (Sep 23, 2021)

Arthurfarris said:


> Driftwood is a great addition to my aquarium's ecology. But I couldn't afford commercial driftwood, so I made driftwood for my aquarium using driftwood I collected in the wild. I cleaned it in the following steps: First, I cleaned the driftwood that I found. Then soak them in a barrel of water for about two weeks to release excess tannins that cause the water to turn brown or slightly yellow. After removing the tannin, it is necessary to wash and boil the driftwood to remove the last remaining dirt. Finally, place the driftwood in the aquarium.


If you don't have the money, you can learn how to install driftwood in the aquarium and still enhance the beauty of the aquarium without spending too much.


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