# Grape Wood???



## Guest (Apr 30, 2006)

Was wondering if many people have had success using Grape Wood in their viv? Heard their not the best for high humidity and have problems with mold.

I'm just limited with what I can get my hands on. Don't have time to go out searching in the woods and the local pet store only sells grape wood.


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

I've heard that it molds easy in vivs, but I ended up using it and it is still fine after a year under constant misting.

Luke


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2006)

I've had a piece of grapewood that water constantly flows over for about 4 months. No sign of mold yet.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2006)

I've been thinking of foaming a piece in the wall of my viv...when I make it. Don't want it getting all full of mold and have to rip it all apart and start from scratch.

I have no prob scrubbing the outside of it to make sure that doesn't happen. But I obviously wont be able to do anything about the inside.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2006)

over here it is being used a lot without any major problem.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2006)

How much would you guys say ventiliation is the cuase of the absence of problems with this wood?


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## jeffreyvmd (Oct 16, 2004)

*grapewood*

I have used grapewood for 3 years in some of my tanks, some attached to the walls and some just on the ground. I have pieces of grapewood that are completely covered with vines and leaves and have not had a problem with mold for the long term. I do, however, normally see some mold as the tank stablilizes. Also, I use glass only on most of the tanks as a top and the only air flow is when I open the tanks to feed and spray and have had no problems yet.


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## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

I used a piece of grapewood in a 29 gallon viv for my cobalt tincs.
I had nothing but problems with mold and mushrooms.
When I say mushrooms I mean hundreds of mushrooms about every two weeks. It got so bad with the shrooms and the slime molds that grew from the wood that I couldn't keep any of the plants alive in that tank. Every plant would get a covering of black mold on it after a week or so and die off. I could clean the front glass of the tank and in a could of days it would have a carpet of slime mold on it in a few days. There was a contant growth of an orange colored slime mold growing from the grapewood itself at all times. I was constantly cleaning it off and it would re-grow over night it would seem. I am not sure if this was actually slime mold or not. That is just what I am calling it.... 

I know it was the grapewood because I used the same brick of coco-bedding in two vivs and I even split the same plants in half to use in between the same two tanks. Both tanks are exactly identical except for the grapewood. Both have ventilation and both have water features. The one without grapewood has never molded with exception of when it was new and that was just the normal mold that goes away in a few days. The one without the grapewood has great plant growth and both have been under the same lights since they were built. I am in the process of ripping apart the viv with the grapewood right now hopefully to build it back up again without grapewood. It might just be easier for me to trash the viv and start over from scratch. I siliconed the grapewood in pretty good. 

The funny thing is that it never seemed to bother the tincs at all. Other than they laid eggs the next day after moving them into a new tank. So, I don't really know if they were laying in the moldy tank and the eggs were going bad right away or not. 

I am sure that other people have had success with grapewood in their vivs but, I will never use it again in any of mine.
Just my two cents.....


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## Guest (May 12, 2006)

i have only used grape wood once. i had a 20 long turtle tank that had 4-5" of water in it. my piece of grape wood was placed directly in the water with a good portion of it above the water line. after a year or so my turtles out grew the small tank and when i transfered them over i changed the tank to a mantella tank. 

upon breaking it down i found that the lower parts of the grape wood were really soft. the parts above the water may have been a little softer than the brand new piece, but they were in no way damaged at all. they could have easily been reused in another tank. the portions of the wood that were above the water would spawn mold every now and then. it was einatly nothing like described above and nothing that effected any of the plants in the tank (grant it they were mostly aquatics).

the piece of wood didnt make it into any of the next few vivs and eventually disappeared so i have never use any grape wood again. i have found a relatively good local source for cypress, mylaysian and african root, and i found the wonderful ghost wood on the internet. i have no reason or need for the grape wood any more, allthough i see a cool piece here and there at the LPS and think about trying it from time to time. i always seem to find a cooler piece of one of the root woods though.


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## Jay Why (Aug 27, 2005)

There seems to be two views of grapewood : it molds too much OR it works just fine.

I'm wondering if we're either not refering to the same thing (different wood) or differently processed/treated.

I know my sand-blasted and heat-treated grapeVINE has worked fine with a water feature constantly running over it for 9 mo.


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## Guest (May 13, 2006)

*fleenor1*

fleenor1 that sounds pretty cool. i like mushrooms.


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## Guest (May 13, 2006)

*plus*

plus slimemolds are pretty cool to, some guy in england has built a cyborg controlled by a slimemold that is integrated into the robots circutry and the machine moves in response to the slimemolds responses to light.


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## Guest (May 13, 2006)

*Re: plus*



Louis said:


> plus slimemolds are pretty cool to, some guy in england has built a cyborg controlled by a slimemold that is integrated into the robots circutry and the machine moves in response to the slimemolds responses to light.


What!? Come again. No comprendo. Would you mind going over that again?


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

I would have to agree with whomever said that there is grapewood, and then there is grapewood...  

My suggestion--before cementing it in place, soak it for a while and see if it smells. I used a beautiful piece in a Bombina tank, a gnarled, twisted, forked specimen, half submerged, half emergent. But after a day it began to stink to high heaven. Fortunately it was not secured in place and I was able to remove it. Because it was so visually attractive I let it soak outside for many weeks, hoping to get rid of the odor; but it never lessened and I ended up having to discard the wood. (It had been purchased from the reptile section of a pet store.)

--Diane


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