patonzon

I'm new to planted aquariums and to this forum. I'm making a new planted tank only half full of water. The idea is to have an aquatic area with some plants and fish and a dry area with plants and maybe some frogs later. I cut the roots of a tree that was taken down and wanted to use them in this tank. Part of them would be inside the water and part of them outside. I have read some about diy driftwood but still have some questions:

1 - Is it necessary to take off all the bark? I like the looks of it and would like to use it.

2 - The wood is very green, I think the tree was taken down only a few weeks ago. Can I use it anyway? Is there something I have to do to treat it besides boiling and soaking it?

3 - I was thinking about sealing it completly with some furniture barnish in order to keep the bark and avoid any sustances to get in the water. What do you guys think about this?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Seattle_Aquarist

Hi patonzon,

Welcome to APC, hopefully you will enjoy this forum as much as I do. Lot's of friendly people with good advice.

That being said, do not use that wood! When we refer to driftwood we are typically referring to old pieces of wood that have been submerged in freshwater for l-o-n-g periods of time to season and reduce the organics that could decompose and fowl the aquarium. "Green" wood is filled with sap that could leach into your tank. This could cause cloudy water, as well as fish death from the toxins. I'm sure others will have opinions and share them as well.

davemonkey

I agree with Seattle. The bark will rot (at least the part in the water), and the 'green' wood is a BAD idea. It needs to be weathered, aged wood that has leached out all its contaminants. Varnish could kill the whole system. You could have it coated in a plastic resin, but you have to make sure it's completely dry before putting it in the tank, and then it just won't look natural.

Are there many tree/forested areas where you live? That's agreat place to start looking for old driftwood.

By the way, welcome to the forum!

patonzon

I understand, I wont put green wood into the aquarium just like that. I just cut two small peaces of root, cleaned them and dry them in the oven. I work at a furniture factory,so tomorrow I'm taking them with me and I'm going to apply several coats of barnish in order to completly seal them. The barnish I'm talking about is actually a type of resin, polyurethane, and once it's dry I don't think it can harm neither the fish or the plants,it becomes an stable plastic. I'm going to put them in a flower pot with aquatic plants just to make sure.

On the other side on saturday I'm taking your advice and going to a nearby river to colect some real driftwood.

Thanks a lot for your replys Seattle aquarist and davemonkey and greetings from Mexico City.

oeat07

Or you can just go to a nice LFS and try to get one that is already treated… you can find a variety of colors and forms. Btw, I bought one like 6 moths ago, and I spent about 2 months soaking and boiling it until it stopped leaching the tannic acid into the tank water (red color). So, even when you get it from the store, you still will have to do some soaking and boiling until you don’t see this red liquid leaching into the water anymore. But whatever you do, DO NOT put anything that you find in your backyard before properly treating it and making sure it wont change/affect you water and livestock.

davemonkey

I've had better luck with stuff I've found outdoors in the wilderness. I've collected 4 pieces that way and found that there was little/no leaching (they had already leached out over time, naturally), so I just boiled them for a couple hours. The larger pieces I soaked in a tub with a 19:1 water:bleach solution for a couple hours and then rinsed/washed in water w/dechlorinator.

To me it's fun to collect driftwood. IT gives me a chance to get away from the computer, and it gives my tanks a more personal touch.

-Dave

patonzon

LFS? Does that stands for "local fish supplier", "local flower shop" or something else?

Thanks

davemonkey

Local Fish Store.

patonzon

Got it, thanks.

zer0zax

I used freshly cut tree roots for my old paludarium, but these roots were sticking out of a river bank and submerged. I just rinsed them off well and made sure that at least 6" of the top of the roots were out of the water. No fouling or mess, The roots started putting out leaves above the waterline and grew quick!

I would not try this with roots pulled from soil though, they are not adapted to life under water and if the roots die they will create huge problems quickly.

If you want to collect driftwood, find a quick flowing river or creek with no pollution (higher ground away from civilization). Make sure the wood is hard and has no bark at all when found, and test it in a bucket. Does it get mushy or stinky? Throw it out! Does the water get cloudy? Throw it out! Old driftwood from flowing water has given me the least amount of problems and tannins. The African driftwood or mopani sold at petstores works good too and is completely safe, but it takes a while to leach out all of the tannins... Have fun!