How to check if driftwood is safe?

[aravind90chan]

333AB32A-3091-457E-B35A-E168635A3F2F.jpgI went to my local nursery and they had this beautiful piece of wood for sale. They had no idea what kind of wood it is. What should I do to make sure that it's aquarium safe?

[Rafael]

The Only thing I can think of is look at it very closey to make sure you do not see any paint or any signs chemicals or anything. And I would definitely soak it for a few days and if possible boil it. Or atleast poor boiling water over it a few times..

[aravind90chan]

Thanks. I read scary stories about cedar pine etc being used as driftwood. Wasn't sure if I have to worry about those for this particular piece.

[Rafael]

NP..I know pine is a soft wood. and from what I have read all soft woods do not do well in aquariums..

[aravind90chan]

Is there a way to check if my piece is soft wood/hard wood?

[Pices]

That is a beautiful piece. It’s color and shape remind me of manzanita wood which is hard. Hope you have something big enough to soak it in if you go that way. I’m overly cautious and used both methods, but bleach kills everything. Waiting for it to dry out was the hard part. I also snipped and sanded the sharp edges.
If you find white film leaching out of it, that’s sap or sugar and nothing to worry about. That’s what mine did at first, but it goes away.
Hope you’ll show a pic of it in the tank when it’s ready.
Hopefully someone else can say for sure what kind of wood it is. Good luck with your find.
Patty

[aravind90chan]

Thank you. Ya it's a beautiful piece. I immediately wanted it and the deal was very good. I'll try to soak it in the rain barrel else I'll have to find another way ��.

[LizStreithorst]

It is beautiful. It looks like hard wood to me. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it being safe. I'd just plop it in the tank and wait until is sank and then place it where it looks best.

[14Discus]

First.......that is indeed a nice piece of wood. Hate to be less than enthusiastic, but I simply don’t trust real wood and prefer to buy the polyresin replicas sold out there. To me, there are just too many unknowns using the real stuff. Here is a pic of some I bought and they look very very real, and are 100% safe. Just my weird ways.....sorry.

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[danotaylor]

My only concern would be that it came from a nursery...just ask them if they ever sprayed any chemicals around where the wood was stored...if not you should be good to go...

[plecocicho]

Put the driftwood in a tub. filled wit water and add daphia. They were once used as a biological test for polutants.

[brady]

Beautiful.
Being that you bought from a nursery I would think that they could tell you what it is.
Jay

[Pices]

First.......that is indeed a nice piece of wood. Hate to be less than enthusiastic, but I simply don’t trust real wood and prefer to buy the polyresin replicas sold out there. To me, there are just too many unknowns using the real stuff. Here is a pic of some I bought and they look very very real, and are 100% safe. Just my weird ways.....sorry.

B9D32323-92A2-46EB-BC06-408FA73DFCEC.jpeg

Fooled me. That really does look real. Good to know for us overly cautious types.
Patty

[14Discus]

If anyone is interested, let me know and I’ll post a link to where these are sold. There are several shapes/styles to choose from. Here are a few pics of my two tanks w these pcs.
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[peewee1]

Your nursery find looks like a root turned upside down. If not sprayed with a lacquer you might be okay. You can use a bleach soak this sanitizes your wood but rinse it with dechlorinator (something like Prime?) to be sure the chlorine is gone. Stick a knife into the wood. If it goes in easy then soft. If you have to push harder, then hard. Freeze it and boil it if you want to be extra safe. Those two processes will convert and destroy the sap and sugars, and most of the resins that your fishies will object to.