Tree Roots

[falcodave]

Hi all - are apple tree roots o.k for use in aquarium ?
An orchard was grubbed out a couple of years ago - the roots were just piled up on the field edge - they would look supurb in an aquarium setup.
Could they be used in an aquarium ?
What cleaning would they require ?

Dave

[zchauvin]

Hmm I would love to know the same :-)

[Northstr31]

I don't know that anyone is gonna know the answer to that. Looks like your gonna have to be the "test" to let us know if it works... =) If you could get your hands on some live daphnia, they are a good indicator species for seeing if anything is toxic.

[William Palumbo]

I always have some culls on hand for this sort of thing. I had to cut back a Mulberry tree/bush a day ago, and I will be trying it out for aquarium use with some Discus culls...Bill

[zchauvin]

Lol, I may stick to manzanita from pc1 but I have seen tree roots used in an aquarium with wilds that were alive and healthy lol.

[zchauvin]

I always have some culls on hand for this sort of thing. I had to cut back a Mulberry tree/bush a day ago, and I will be trying it out for aquarium use with some Discus culls...Bill

awesome bill let us know how it goes. I'll be looking out for this thread as roots would add an amazing look to a biotope. Manzanita on steroids ;)

[Northstr31]

post a picture when you get it running...
Anthony

[phorty]

I've seen some interesting roots around and always wondered if they're safe or not....

[Moon]

I've tried cedar roots with no problems. I did soak them in my pond for about a year.

[radif]

I'm using tea stem in my biotope, having dipped it for 2 months in a separate tank. And everything seems just fine in my biotope.

[Skip]

don't you have to at least BAKE IT (to dry it, since putting green wood sounds risky?) for sometime and/or BOIL it ?

[zchauvin]

That's a good question :) I mean in a river you figure trees fall in all the time but the river doesn't pay top dollar for its inhabitants either lol

[Skip]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-driftwood.htm

[radif]

Yes. I kept in submerged for two months, And 1 week with heater on at over 35 degrees. Oh, in addition to that I formerly dried it under direct sun for about a year! It was wet while it rained and again dried. That is how it is seasoned :D

[twocat]

I picked up two sets of roots floating in the water when I went to see my dad about 6 mths ago. I let them sit outside for about a month and put them in two seperate tanks. The discus seem to love it.

[zchauvin]

Pictures?

[Dieselfool]

Glad to have stumbled upon this thread. This is all good cause I've had all my localy found driftwood (mostly ceder I think) soaking in a 55g tank for 10 weeks now.

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu22/dieselfool/180%20Gallon%20rebuild/IMG_1177.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Ceder can leech toxins into the water like pine can it not? Someone correct me if I am wrong.