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Wood choice for the planted tank

184K views 113 replies 68 participants last post by  Michael 
#1 · (Edited)
Can we assemble a thread that lists acceptable wood choices for the planted tank? If you know it's safe for tank use please add it to the list. Lets assume that it should be clean and not green wood, but seasoned and dead. For definitions of dead, seasoned see post #40. If we can get a good list we can make this a sticky. I'll keep editing this 1st post of the thread as the list gets bigger. For details about each wood see individual posts by contributors.

1. Manzanita
2. Colophospermum mopane (AKA mopani, mopane drift wood)
3. Chola (cholla, choya) wood
4. Rose wood roots
5. Malaysian drift wood
6. Ribbon wood
7. Cypress
8. Oak
9. Mesquite
10. Cedar - some are iffy on this one.
11. Grapevines - reported to rot quickly
12. Ironwood
13. Beefwood
14. Australian Pine
15. Azalea
16. Rhododendron
17. Madrona
18. Crepe Myrtle
19. Western Hemlock Roots
20. Contorted/Corkscrew Willow
21. Osage Orange / Bodark
22. Buttonwood
23. Baldcypress / Taxodium
24. Cherry trees- Maybe OK after aging, I would not risk them fresh.
25. Tulip poplars- Liriodendron tulipifera
26. Linden trees- Tilla sp
27. Maple- Acer sp.
28. Glossy Ligustrum, Ligustrum lucidum
29. Mangrove
 
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#6 ·
I don't think cypress would work, actually. It contains a natural turpentine essence, hence it's resitance to termite/white ant/borer attack.

I reckon it would leach into the tank and kill everything in sight...
Is this a similar reason to why cedar is considered unsuitable for aquariums?
Correct.
 
#10 ·
Do you have any specific data of the effects cypress and/or cedars on planted aquaria flora and/or fauna? I've seen and heard plenty of "It'll kill everything" but no specific reasons why.
I don't I am sorry, hence my using the phrase "I don't think"... All I have is 18yrs dealing with timber of different types and knowing the natural properties of cypress and cedar. It just seems logical to me that anything that can drive away termites or borers (particularly those found here in Australia), would be somewhat less than ideal in an aquarium environment.

Personal opinion...I would love to find out the truth of it, also...
 
#8 ·
Bring on some more. So far here is the list. I'll leave cedar off until we have a concensus. What are the trees that grow in the swaps of Louisiana? Aren't those cedar - with the knees? Also somewhere I read crepe myrtle; is that ok?

1. Manzanita
2. Colophospermum mopane (AKA mopani, mopane drift wood)
3. Chola wood,
4. Rose wood roots,
5. Malaysian drift wood,
6. Ribbon wood
 
#13 ·
Adding cypress, if it's good enough for the swamps of Louisiana it's good enough for us. :D Existing list so far. If you see one that's not safe, please post. Does anyone know about Crepe Myrtle?

1. Manzanita
2. Colophospermum mopane (AKA mopani, mopane drift wood)
3. Chola wood,
4. Rose wood roots,
5. Malaysian drift wood,
6. Ribbon wood
7. Cypress
8. Oak
 
#14 ·
I have used Mesquite (very rich dark color - BEAUTIFUL in my opinion) with no problems.

Also, Cedar is a proven winner in at least a couple NASH tanks...and is currently used in one of the Museum of Natural Science Piranha display tanks. As long as it's aged well, it is good-to-go.

Mopani (commonly sold for reptiles and some for aquariums) is also good, but rather thick/bulky for most aquascape situations. IME, it needs good boiling to leach out the "tea".

I'm not sure about Crepe Myrtle, but I would venture a guess that it's okay if it's aged well (like all the others). I know it is a weak wood structurally (breaks easily cmopared to other woods).

-Dave
 
#16 ·
I have some redwood roots that came from the creek on my parents property. I was wondering what other people thought. :decision:
 
#24 · (Edited)
add Rhododendron (and azalea) to the list!

The successful use of Rhododendron branches in planted aquariums has been reported by Jerry Smith, of Bloomingdale, NJ, in reply to a query by Mary Sweeney in the Aquatic-Plants Digest (APD). The bushes we commonly call "azaleas" are also members of the genus Rhododendron, so they're fine, too.

Here's a clip of the APD post:

Mary Sweeney posted on Jan 13, 2009 "Has anyone ever used rhododendron
branches in aquaria?"

I just found a member of my local plant club here in NJ that uses
Rhododendron in her tanks. I am waiting for further information from her
about how long she has had it in there, but I suspect it has been a while.
She says not to use softwoods like pine and fir or anything you can dent
with a fingernail. She really likes the look of Rhododendron in her tanks.

Jerry Smith
Bloomingdale, NJ

Thanks, Jerry!

This *is* exciting! As a follow-up to my question, I peeled a small branch
with a potato peeler and put it in a bowl with some snails and a sprig of
Java Moss.

Put it on the window sill.

The water turned a little green for a day.

Baby snails appeared.

The Java is creeping over to the branch---looks like they're going to "hook
up."<G>

I added in some fish eggs. They've hatched and the fry are doing well.

The branch isn't doing anything strange---yet.<G>

Yep, I think we're onto something here.

Local Jersey plant club?

Mary Sweeney
Monmouth Hills, NJ
P.S. Perhaps this thread ought to be a "sticky". Or, we could just leave folks to use the search feature of the forum.
 
#38 ·
Maple should be fine once it's "aged."

Walnut (specifically the American Black Walnut (Juglans ***** L.) and Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) are definitely no goes! They contain an enzyme called juglone (5-hydroxy-alphanapthaquinone) which is toxic to many other species of trees, causes allergic reactions in humans, and has been proven fatal to horses. Juglone does break down fairly rapidly in water with exposure to light, however, most of the studies covered runoff in concern to irrigation of crops and livestock where the ppm would be infinitesimal. I would be very hesitant to place it in such a closed aquatic environment as an aquascape of less than a hundred gallons, especially if my plants and fish were of any value to me.

YMMV
 
#28 ·
This is a good thread!
I might be able to offer a little insight about some of the woods you have listed. Keep in mind that most of the wood that I use is not totally submersed, but it is in very high humid environments.

You will want to stay away from soft woods, therefore grapewood/grapevine is not a good choice, they rot VERY quickly.

Cypress is ok to use, but in my experience it does not hold up well. All of the cypress if have found has been aged (AKA cypress driftwood) and is very buoyant.

I would stay away from cedar/pine this is where turpentine comes from.

Manzanita is good to use, it is a very hard wood. I also use the manzanita root burls.

Mopani/Swahala are very good to use.

Malaysian driftwood is very good to use, although I do not know what type of wood it actually is. We order in bulk and our distributor offers to different 'grades' of the Malaysian, they have the aquarium grade and a reptile grade. The reptile grade is not as heavy or dense as the aquarium grade and it will float. And as Dave mentioned, it will leach tannins.

Oak is a good choice.

Buttonwood is also good.

I have heard of people using Osage Orange aka Bodark.

I have been wanting to try Mesquite, just haven't found the 'right' piece.

Chola wood, did you mean Cholla? If so, Cholla is not really a 'wood', but the skeletal remains of cactus.

As for the other woods mentioned, I can't say one way or the other.

Cindy
 
#33 ·
Opinions are like _______.

Grapevines aren't wood.
Some wood is termite resistant so it "must be bad."
But then the next suggestion is for a wood that's even more pest resistant.
Toss in some common and regional names, now you're cooking.
A whole bunch of conjecture doesn't help anyone. It may actually prevent people from experimenting and really learning something.



I pick up driftwood on the shores of a reservior. There are semi loads of it lining the shores from previous floods. What kind? No way to tell at this point. I figure if it is aged and has been submerged in moving water long enough, it is done leeching anything. It is free. Just screw a lead weight on it until it gets waterlogged again. I think age is good. The bark and cabmium rot easily but time takes care of both.
 
#39 ·
Grapevines aren't wood.
True, insofar as wood is defined as the substance under the bark of a tree. There are, however many "woody plants," a term used by horticulturists, of which I am one, by training, though not, for some years, by trade. The fiber under the bark of woody plants may well be useful in aquascaping in much the same way that true wood would be. :D

It may be that a bit of openmindedness, in terms of our operational definition of the word wood, may be useful to us in this thread.
 
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