# Why driftwood?



## Guest (May 11, 2004)

Why not use any type of wood in a viv? I am thinking of using large sanded cherry tree branches to incorporate into the background of a viv. 
Why does everybody use driftwood? Is a hollow log found on the forest floor not good to use in a viv? WOW, what a beginner question.


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## Randy (Mar 18, 2004)

I think the reason why so many people use driftwood is that it has a pretty good resistance to rotting. I use driftwood in many of my smaller tanks, but I sometimes use grapewood in my larger vivs. Honestly, I like the look of the grapewood a little more because of the gnarly twists and turns the brances/roots make. I also find that moss grows on grapewood much more quickly than on driftwood. But that's just in my own experiences.


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## khoff (Feb 18, 2004)

People usually use driftwood because regular wood will rot and in a about a year, completely fall apart. Driftwood is moisture resistance and holds up for a long time. Hope this helps


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## Guest (May 11, 2004)

driftwood is already seasoned not to rot away like everyone else is saying, but there is no rule saying that you cant use other wood. Most people will not use grapewood in a humid terrarium, but like Randy says, it looks really nice, and it can work. if you find wood or make some neat features out of wood, boil it in water for a few hours to sterilize it, and then use it. If it falls apart in a year or two, you will know what not to use. Then again, maybe you will get lucky and find a wood that holds up for 5 years with no adverse effects. If you want to follow the path of more seasoned hobbyists, use driftwood, but there is no rule saying that you cant experiment. Thats a big part of the fun of it anyway!


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## Guest (May 11, 2004)

I'll try it, but don't want to take the risk of having my background fall apart in only a year or so. I will use it to make hides and such that will be easy to remove in a year or so. Thanks for taking the time to explain the little things to a beginner.


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## Guest (May 11, 2004)

Grapevien and other softer wood will rot fast. manzanita as well. the woods found on the forest floor are fine if they are a hard wood and have been seeting there a while as the tannins will have been leached out. I find a lot of wood in the forests near my home. it's good. and drift wood is just a good if not better as long as it's from fresh water and not the ocean. most drift woods are hard wood. if a grapevine or peice of pine found it's way to the water, you might not see it as it may have rotted. drift wood, as some one mentioned, also has most of it's tannins lost.

i've never baked or boild my wood. i hose it off with the hose and let it dry. that way the moss that was growiong on it still grows one it's but and fitted into the tank. 

i like fallen trees as the root section is reachable. redwood (soft) oak, maple and stay away from grapevine, friut, and pine-juniper types.


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## Guest (May 12, 2004)

Why not from the ocean???


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

The salts can be harmful to the plants, and maybe frogs(not sure about that)


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## Guest (May 12, 2004)

two questions
1. Why not fruit tree wood?
2. What is tannis?


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## Guest (May 12, 2004)

fruit tree wood (other than apple and cherry hardwood) is very soft and most likely prone to rot. Doesn't meant that it will definitely rot, just prone to it.

Tannins are the chemicals in wood that ...... well i dont know what they do for the tree, but it's not good for tropicals. You know how when you have a puddle of water with dried leaves in it it starts to turn brown like tea? thats the tannins leaching out. That is why most driftwood you see is very light in color.


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## Guest (May 12, 2004)

thanks for the lesson. I'm going to collect some wood from the forest to use in a background. I'll try to post some pics of the wood so you can tell me what you think.


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## Guest (May 12, 2004)

If it's a permanent background I would use some type of wood that is proven suitable for wet habitats such as ghostwood, cypress or cork bark.

You don't want to build a great background only to have your wood rot out inside it. If you do use wood from outside (unless you happen to have the types mentioned above outside) I would just set it in the tank so it can be removed if it starts to create problems.

Just my 2 cents


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## Guest (May 13, 2004)

I guess setting up a 30 gallon with wood that may rot is too risky. Humm; now I should either make my backgroung out of cork or buy driftwood off e bay and make a foam/silicone background.


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## Guest (May 13, 2004)

2 things:
First if you just rinse it what aout the bugs under the bark. I just de-barked mine and i found a bunch or white grub under the bark. 

Second, are u sure that tanin is bad for tropicals. :?: That coco bedding is made for tropicals and coco fiber ozes with tanin.


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## Guest (May 13, 2004)

Tannins are coffe and tea. any time you soak plant material be it stems, seeds-beans or leaves, you release tannins. the reason drift wood is lighter in color is in part due to the sun - ever seen those faded soda cans? same thing, but the tannins are also released but that isn't always the coloring of wood.

as for fruit trees, i learned from some bug eater guy that orange trees are great as most citrus trees are good as well as what was mentioned.

i use redwood bark for my back grounds as it's a bit more natural looking to me. i just silicone and it's done. no rotting at all real, just some ferns growing up them from time to time and moss all over the place. it has to do with the pH of the wood. use what you want, that is what learning is about. there arn't any rules - heck i've dumped dirt on to the silicone and then planted creeping fig on it for a back ground. just rinse off the wood, cenipdedes suck.

for a 20, you could use foam, mortar, silicone and peat-soil or bark peices, what ever you want. there is a way to make it all work, just takes a bit more thinking. 

tannin isn't bad, think of all the fallen leaves and humidity in the tropical area of the world. the soil is rich with humis and tannins. i've never heard anything bad about it. i'd think more about the soils pH if your planting moss or something.


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

Terra5,

So are you saying orange wood is ok? Because i have more then i would ever need all over the place, we just trimed our orange tree and have some nice lookin branches.
Thanks
Ryan


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## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

you can also use osage orange wood.
it is very hard wood. i was told that it dulls the saw blade pretty quick. i have some in my area because it is used for a natural fence for cows. but i have yet to get any. when it friuts it has grapefriut size seed pods/friut. 
if you are able to get this in your area you can try this wood. i know it grows up north here. 
walt


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## Guest (May 13, 2004)

I thought tannis had something to do with the wood rotting faster. I will use freashly cut cherry tree branches if I know it will last for longer than a year.


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## Guest (May 13, 2004)

oasage is great! i have heard it's abundant in the midwest - i'd buy a box of it if some one could sell it.

not sure about cherry but if you've found a cool piece of wood, go for it. most hard woods are good. pine sucks...cherry is a hard wood.

not sure about the tannins -vs- rot but i've never explored that deep. i find nice peices of wood and if it's cool looking but a soft wood it's into the helmeted or steno gecko tanks and the like. if it's hardwood, then it's tossed into the salamander or mantella tanks.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

In my 15 gallon tall, custom hex, which houses my three imitators, I put a study oak stick in there, on which I planted three of the small neo bromeliads. I didn't attempt to sterilize the stick, just rinsed it off well. I am very happy with the results. Wild moss and ferns have sprouted from it, and the broms are also doing great. If I ever get around to finding a site to host my pix, I'll surely post a link, otherwise the pic in my avatar is of one of the broms with my imitators in there, though you can't really see much with the pic being so compressed.


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## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Brian,

I use http://www.photobucket.com.

It's fast, free, and they even give you the code if you want to post a pic.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

Thanks for the tip. Maybee tonight after work, I'll check it out :lol:


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## AlexB (Feb 15, 2004)

would a pear tree be ok? and can I give maple a try?


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2006)

Hi, I am a complete newb to raising dendrobates and building a vivarium. I have bought almost everything I will need for a 10 gallon tank, minus the frogs, plants, and food. I've run into a few problems with trying to put a peice of malaysian driftwood into my vivarium, it's just too big! I had thought about cutting it into smaller pieces, but decided I would much rather save it for a bigger tank if I ever make it that far with this hobby. My question, related to this topic for the most part, is, I live on a small lake, so I have a nice source for driftwood, but, I am wondering, can I use any piece of driftwood I find and not worry about it somehow harming either my plants, or my frogs? As long as I clean it and boil it of course. Is there anything specific I should be aware of or stay away from? Thanks in advance!

Ian


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2006)

sorry about that, screwed up my username, this is the one i will be using in case someone wants to reply to my previous message!


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2006)

If you soak driftwood thats been in saltwater in fresh water for about a month I belive that most if not all the salts in the wood have leached out.
Thats what I do and I have had no ill effects with any of my animals or my customers animals. plus all my wood is sterilized thouroughly.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

There was a chytrid fungus thread that I can't find right now that covered how to clean wood so it wouldn't harm the frogs/plants. Basically you have to get the core of the wood above 140F, or dry it out completely in order to kill that. Because bleach only cleans the surface, not thoughout the whole cross section where chytrid can live, it's generally not considered as good as other methods. 

I am a big advocate of collecting wood and have do so for a while now. Basically find a piece that has some weight to it, as the denser the wood the better it will hold up (this is a rule of thumb, not law). From there I give it a good scrubbing and rince, then let it sit and dry out. I'm rarely in a hurry for wood so having it sit for a month or two isn't an issue for me. Putting it in the oven would be another option if you were on a time scale.



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