# Using logs/branches from the woods



## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

i'm looking for info on using logs, branches, anything, found in the woods that can be used in a tank. i can never find pieces of wood that i like in stores, even if i ever did they usually seem really expensive. i found some pieced i like, but threw them back as i determined them to be harmful. when i left them in a sealed container for a couple days and opened it, it smelled almost toxic, similar to silicone.

any tree info would be nice, things like: who here uses wood they've found in their tanks? any good/bad experiences? any tips on finding safe wood? are there any trees that are known to be good/bad in tanks? i believe cyprus and pines can be bad, what else? are there any ways to id wood found if you can't tell which tree it came from? are there any types recommended to use? thanks.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Almost all of the wood I use I find. Most of the stuff isn't identifiable but I do know I've used sycamore, osage orange, and ash (I think). A field guide to trees indiginious to your area would be a great help when going wood hunting - particularly one that uses the bark for id.


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## dustin_grey (Mar 8, 2006)

I borrowed a log from my backyard to put in my viv. I made sure it was dried out plenty, and I cleaned it out really nice (boiling water, high pressure water blasting, bleaching, etc). I would say its alright, so long as you get the right type of wood.

I have no clue what type of wood Ive got in my viv to be honest though. But its working out great.


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## froggerboy (Jul 9, 2006)

I know pine is considered bad becuase of the sap secretions.Cypress is very good for you tanks becuase they don't break down easily in wet habits being that they grow in swamps and so forth.Hardwoods are prefered because they take more time to breakdown,so avoid firs and aspens. You usually can find Bog wood from the LFS .If you are out along rivers and lakes you might find some older pieces of driftwood but its easier just to suck it up and by it online. I live in a horrible place to collect wood so I really don't have a choice.Do a google search for drift wood and you might find some cheaper wood out of Lousiana.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Bad news about using wood from outside... many of these woods rot quickly in our tanks (which is why people are willing to pay good money for woods that don't - check the "wood for wet habitats" in the Black Jungle online catelog). Also is the problem of introducing stuff that is unwanted... millipedes, centipedes, spiders, parasites, and pathogens. Wood, to a degree, can be sanitized. The last bit I worry about is chemicals... what chemicals have been sprayed on the trees/soils they grow in that may be still on/in the wood, and also pollution (a problem close to roads or in polluted streams and such). Think about all this carefully before using wood from outside.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

eBay is another good place to look for driftwood. Shipping can be a pain, but the prices usually aren't too bad. Plus what you see is what you get (if you're attentive).


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

I'm still don't understand why wood rotting in a tank is a bad thing. We provide rotting things for isopods and springtails, but rotting wood is bad?...

Where does the wood people sell come from? Outside. What do they do to make sure it's safe for us: pay attention to the area and possible chemical contamination, bake it to rid insects, rinse it so get debris off of it. So why can't we do it?

There is seriously no backing as to why buying wood is better than picking it yourself.


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

yepper


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## froggerboy (Jul 9, 2006)

there is no problem with getting your own if you live in an area that has good wood selection.But, bringing wood that rots fast mean you have to replqace it quicker.Rottiing wood isn't bad as long as your tank isn't filled with it(aesthetically speaking)


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Rotting wood generally isn't a bad thing, except if you have that perfect center peice for your tank and its supporting all sorts of plants, you want it to last as long as the tank does... years rather than months (or even weeks in some cases). If you're using it for something temporary or aren't going to have that tank around in a couple months to a year, I guess it doesn't matter that much. If you're building for the long haul, its worth the money you put into that peice of wood so that your gorgeous tank doesn't fall apart as the wood rots into dirt just as the tank really has matured.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

defaced said:


> I'm still don't understand why wood rotting in a tank is a bad thing. We provide rotting things for isopods and springtails, but rotting wood is bad?...
> 
> Where does the wood people sell come from? Outside. What do they do to make sure it's safe for us: pay attention to the area and possible chemical contamination, bake it to rid insects, rinse it so get debris off of it. So why can't we do it?
> 
> There is seriously no backing as to why buying wood is better than picking it yourself.


Mike,

Not true! All my driftwood comes from pristine organic driftwood farms. The driftwood stumps are grown in completely sterile conditions and sealed immediately after harvest to preserve freshness. All store bought drift wood comes from such farms. My local driftwood farm is located right next to the telephone pole farm and the plywood sheet farm (sometimes they grow 2x4's, but they are seasonal).

Never use wood that is grown in a forest for your tanks.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

But it just seems so much cleaner when I pay $25 for a little piece of cypress.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Ha! God, I needed that . . . put it in the quote thread in the Lounge!


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

> Not true! All my driftwood comes from pristine organic driftwood farms.





> Never use wood that is grown in a forest for your tanks.


Digress, please. How can something outside be pristene? I'm not trying to be difficult, I seriously don't get it. Those two statements are as opposite as me eating frog legs while I tend to my pdfs. 

And it's too late, I've been using wood from the forest since I started building tanks ~5 years ago.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Im pretty sure it was a joke


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2006)

zBrinks said:


> Im pretty sure it was a joke


Thank you, captain obvious :wink: i keed i keed.


Driftwood farms :lol:


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Thats Mr. Obvious to you!


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Are you serious!?! Bah I piss myself off sometimes. 

Take a laugh on me this time guys.  :lol:


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2006)

defaced said:


> Are you serious!?! Bah I piss myself off sometimes.
> 
> Take a laugh on me this time guys.  :lol:


What, the telephone pole farm didnt give it away? :lol: Its ok, at first I was like driftwood farms eh? hmm.. maybe I should find one of those


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Telephone pole farm makes sence. A telephone pole is the center trunk of a tree, it needs to be straight and tall. That's not a common thing anymore to find a mass of trees like that. Then again, I don't think we've been farming trees long enough to grow trees that large. The 2x4 thing is real though.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

defaced said:


> Are you serious!?! Bah I piss myself off sometimes.
> 
> Take a laugh on me this time guys.  :lol:


Sorry Mike! Didn't mean to piss you off!! I was sure the suggestion that 2x4's were seasonal wouldn't get past you...

I was really trying to pat you on the back for using your often keen sense of the obvious. Until you stated the obvious - that ALL driftwood comes from the forest I was somehow under the belief that if I bought the wood it was ok to use... When I read your post I said to myself... Duh! He's right!

Anyway, sorry to get you worked up... please stop eating your frogs legs now.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Ah, it's been a great day on here. No worries about me getting worked up, I need to not take myself so seriously sometimes. It's been a stressful week so the snap back to reality was really needed. 

:lol: I've got a grin from ear to ear that I've got friends like you guys putts around with.


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

it's ok mike, i was confused too!

it seems to me like the most important part in choosing to use outside wood, is what kind of wood you're using. too bad most of the pieces i find that i like are just laying around, and not still a piece of the tree to easily id.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

<<< is thinking about taking Mike out to visit the toothpick farm....of course entirely bonsai :wink: 

Bill


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

elmoisfive said:


> <<< is thinking about taking Mike out to visit the toothpick farm....of course entirely bonsai :wink:
> 
> Bill


Ha ha ha!! Just choked on my coffee when I read that!


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Let's get this out there though, from those who've actually collected their own wood. What wood is good to use within tanks? I'd be especially interested to hear about good wood (don't laugh now...) on the East Coast.


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## froggerboy (Jul 9, 2006)

Where ever the good wood is ,it isn't in Montana


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## rleyh (Jun 21, 2005)

Oak is a good hardwood for tanks. It will not last as long as some types, but a couple of years should be plenty. I find driftwood while fishing local rivers and streams. The best ones are root sections, which have already been exposed to near constant moisture for years.

Dry it out in the sun for a month or so. Then bake it to kill any critters.

Rob


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

Great thread!! I have been swamped here (MIA) all summer! We are moving and put our house on the market. So I have had lots of work making the house ready to sell. I've really missed you guys! I always find something to make me smile or laugh here :wink: 

I am interested in learning what wood found in the eastern region (GA) is the most durable.


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## Steve (Apr 8, 2006)

Ha Ha.. how silly, a telephone pole farm... funny thing is i read it and didn't even bat an eye.. i even pictured feilds of phone poles waiting their turn to be cut on demand and shipped off.. it's been a long day.  

Anyway back to the point.

I use a lot of pine but this is knotted pine roots, in my local mountains above 8,000 ft the pines get naturally felled by the snow melt each march. Some of these pines have been there a long time. They also last well in a viv as they have been frozen and baked over a period of years.

The patterns they make over time are phenomenal (sp?) and look like spooky arms and legs. I hve never hesitated to use it. 

Steve


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Osage Orange (Hedge Apple) is my all time favorite vivarium wood. Once the tree has fallen and it has aged, it's a deep rust color with lots of character. It doesn't mold and hold up great to being wet. The only down side is that it's heavy. 

Most of the time when I'm wood hunting, I have no idea what I'm picking up. I usually feel the weight of it - most of the wood I find that has been adrift is really light so that doesn't count - but the heavier the wood, the more likely it's going to do ok in a tank IME.

Presence of sap or other anomilies. If the wood has something questionable on it, I'll just toss it back - there's plenty of wood to be found, no need to risk it. 

Wood that has been water logged or eaten by insects does well in tanks. Don't ask me why, but even stuff that feels like it would crumble in my hand has done fine for several months (the longest I've had a tank together with the stuff in it, though there was no significant sign of further breaking down)


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