# Sterilizing Wood



## raeven (May 12, 2011)

Let's say that I was to be walking around one day, and happened to find a piece of wood that I think would look good in my tank, how would I go about sterilizing it. Assuming it was too big for a pot, naturally.

The idea of bleach came to mind, but that seems rather harsh and full of chemicals, so I'm not sure if that's the best idea. ...Or is it?


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't personally think bleach is the way to go. Depending on where you find it. I have just soaked it in boiling water for a couple days to a week and added them to my tanks without any ill effects. If I found it in a river or lake I soaked it longer since the odds are far better of getting unwanted thingies introduced to your tank, than a piece that has been on land. Just my experience


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. first you must know what kind of wood it is. you want a hardwood. and pine is a big no no. it will smell like pine-sol and will poison your tank. that being said if you found a good piece of wood boil it. bleach can soak into the wood and stay there until it slowly leaches out. if it's too big for you pot get a bigger one. i got a used bathtub i throw over a fire pit. then boil it for 6 hrs or more. Cheers


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

agreed , pine is definitely is a big no-no.


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Hmmmm... Not sure why pine is a big no-no... I've used pine for a number of years with no problems. Just made sure it was dead and dry before putting it in my tank. Some of the pieces were too big to fit in a pot, those were scrubbed and soaked. Fish never seemed to mind it. The worst thing about it, is that it's a softer wood than some of the hard wood, so after a couple of years the smaller branches tend to get soft. I just break/pull those off. Otherwise it's been good.

The pic below is an awesome pine root in my planted 210.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. flygirl are you sure that is pine ? i always herd it was bad, and it makes sense, because of the pine oils in the tree.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

i agree with flygirl about the soft wood, it is ok to use but deteriorates quicker then hard wood. Cheers


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Scherb said:


> Hello. flygirl are you sure that is pine ? i always herd it was bad, and it makes sense, because of the pine oils in the tree.


Hey Scherb, yup, that be pine... bit of a story behind that piece, but that another tale 

I could see people having issues if the branches/roots were still fresh (or not dried enough). All the ones I have used, were either water logged from who knows how long, or dried and aged to the point they were almost white. They did take a while before they became water logged. And as mentioned before, they're not as dense as the hardwoods so they go soft sooner. All but one of my 6 pieces in the current tank are pine. I have anubias, java & windelov fern and moss growing on all. Both plants and fish doing well.

The only thing I am have mixed information on is cedar... always thought it was poisonous and have stayed away from it, even though I've found some incredible looking roots. Then just a couple of months ago while looking through some forums (it was either planted tank or the barr report) saw a post on wood that is safe for the aquarium by Tom Barr and one of the species of wood he was suggesting for someone on the west coast was western yellow cedar. Hmmm... if that is the case, it will make things a lot easier when looking for suitable pieces. Wish that could be confirmed (or denied).


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Huh. good to know, Thanks. Cheers


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Scherb said:


> i got a used bathtub i throw over a fire pit. then boil it for 6 hrs or more. Cheers


Now that is some determination :lol: The fire department would like to see that in my front lawn


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

gklaw said:


> Now that is some determination :lol: The fire department would like to see that in my front lawn


lol. ya make sure you make a video of that. ok not every body has the bath tub option. Cheers


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Scherb said:


> I got a used bathtub i throw over a fire pit. then boil it for 6 hrs or more. Cheers





gklaw said:


> Now that is some determination :lol: The fire department would like to see that in my front lawn


I see a club event coming up... "The annual wood boiling extravaganza" @ Scherbs... bring your wood - one for your arse, one for the tub and one to add to the fire


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Flygirl said:


> I see a club event coming up... "The annual wood boiling extravaganza" @ Scherbs... bring your wood - one for your arse, one for the tub and one to add to the fire


lol. it's on. Cheers


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

I picked up a used canner for boiling large wood, works great. Where do you store a used bathtub?


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

The Guy said:


> I picked up a used canner for boiling large wood, works great. Where do you store a used bathtub?


In a used bathroom  You have lots of room under your mobile


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Lol. i have a good size backyard. i live on the out skirts so to speak. the fire pit is an old tire rim off a semi or something. about 3ft wide and 2ft deep. Cheers


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## stlove1 (Dec 19, 2010)

I've pick up driftwood out of saltwater, soaked it boiled it a couple of times and worked fine. From what I've read you should stay away from river wood.



gklaw said:


> Now that is some determination :lol: The fire department would like to see that in my front lawn


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## raeven (May 12, 2011)

Okay, well while all that advice is handy, it still doesn't help me much lol. I live in a condo, so I don't think putting a fire under a bathtub is much of an option.

What I was looking for was some sort of sterilizing agent that you guys might know about


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Sorry never herd of nothing like that. Cheers


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

If you really want to kill anything/everything that's on it, put it in your bathtub and use bleach. It'll take a bit to rinse, but it will be sterilized. You'll still have tannins, but with water changes, time and a bit of charcoal, that will sort itself out. Make sure the wood is not green and has been dead/dry for some time.


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## chubar (Jan 30, 2012)

Louise,
Keep in mind Alaskan Yellow Cedar is a high elevation species around here, what you see around is Western Red Cedar. Shouldn't matter though, they both contain antifungal and antibacterials and are resistant to rot, but I haven't heard anything about them being bad for higher animals. They would however take longer to convince to stop floating to the surface.


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

chubar said:


> Louise,
> Keep in mind Alaskan Yellow Cedar is a high elevation species around here, what you see around is Western Red Cedar. Shouldn't matter though, they both contain antifungal and antibacterials and are resistant to rot, but I haven't heard anything about them being bad for higher animals. They would however take longer to convince to stop floating to the surface.


Have you actually seen any used in fish set ups? It would be great if they were good to go, for we sure have enough of them around. Not to mention there has been more times than I care to count when I've found and incredible looking stump or branch, only to then leave it behind fearing that it may in fact be cedar. There just is so much conflicting info out there... wish there was a species list of aquarium safe woods, something actually verified. If anyone knows of one, it could prove to be a goldmine to all us adventurous explorers and collectors.


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## chubar (Jan 30, 2012)

Triangle Ferret Lovers is a pretty good article, but only addresses what can happen if you breath the wood... which fish and other aquatics obviously can't do. My hunch is given that they are both acids it might alter your pH for a while but is unlikely to harm fish. 
Effects of Cedar diftwood on a planted tank. has a guy with a lot of Red Cedar in his tank and it looks awesome.


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Damn Chubar, thanks for the link! This helps to redefine some of the criteria when on wood hunting expeditions. I guess the aged, waterlogged wins out in most cases. Tannins are easily dealt with, as long as we pay attention to the alkalinity levels and potential swings(especially with the soft water we have here).

Sure like the looks of the stump he had in that tank.

Now that you got me into the realm of that thread, found another on the site that details some pretty awesome wood set ups that Tom did, mostly all with cedar.

Tom's 180 wood scaping


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## waterbox (Nov 26, 2011)

I have two very large pieces of wood in my 180 gallon tank. I picked up one piece, a stump, from the beach at Whiterock (when I say picked it up, I mean that it took two of us). The wood was grey right through, so I gather the stump had been there, well above the high-tide line, for many years. When I cut it open, there was no odour. I didn't disinfect it in any way, although I did fill and empty the aquarium about three times, and the water turned quite brown the first couple of times. In fact, the water had a yellowish tinge for about the first month, while I cycled the tank.

Also, as soon as the wood was submerged, dozens of isopods (potato, or pill bugs) came crawling out of it. They lived on the top of that stump for about six weeks, sometimes venturing underwater. I had no idea they are aquatic. Anyway, I have suffered no losses--other than one opaline gourami that mysteriously disappeared--in the four months the aquarium has been up and running.

The other piece in the tank smelled very strongly of cedar when I cut into it, so I knew that it still had oil in the wood. That one, I coated in epoxy. Unfortunately, I didn't seal it completely. Should have given it two coats, but damn that epoxy is expensive! So, after several days, water seeped in under the epoxy and turned it to a milky colour. However, as it was soon covered in algae and moss, it doesn't matter much. Anyway, cedar is about the only local wood I _wouldn'_t put into an aquarium untreated.

I think that many tropical streams and rivers are full of dead and living wood, and that most of our aquarium fish are probably well adapted to the majority of the chemicals that leach out of wood. If some of them are mildly toxic, I believe that carrying out weekly 15% water changes will keep them diluted to safe levels, until eventually they leave the wood completely. So if the fish survive their first month and you keep up your water changes, it's probably not a problem.

I wouldn't worry too much about most woods other than cedar. Keep in mind this is just one aquarist's experience. But this is a very large volume of wood we're talking about--probably about 25 gallons, I would estimate. Also, I was not dunking a strange piece of wood into an established aquarium with fish that I cherished. I set up the tank, and after I had cycled it (about a month later) , I introduced five $2 juvenile angelfish and there was nothing else in that tank except for some plants for another month.

Four months later, all five of those angelfish are still with me. And they love pecking at that stump!


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

i have also heard of people using a blow torch on their driftwood.


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Bake it, Thats what I do


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