# Apple hardwood



## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey guys,

So, after some discussion, we pan on chopping down an old apple tree in our backyard. Although old, its not the biggest tree in the world. 

My question is, if I stripped it of it's bark, would there be any toxins that could potentially leach out Is i were to submerge the wood? I thought this could be a good opportunity to add some cool looking branches to my tank. 

Any experience/ knowledge would be fantastic


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

only experience i have with applewood is using it to smoke salmon 


MMMMmmmmm


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

If some one has a smoke house and some salmon.... Applewood for all


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

You can argue that any hardwood (bark-stripped, thoroughly dried, presoaked before using) will be fine. However, when I was an aviculturalist, wood from certain fruit trees was known to cause poisoning in wood-chewing birds.The seeds of cherry and related fruits, including peaches, plums, almonds, pears, and apricots, contain cyanogenic glycosides. Apple was considered safe, but, it too, packs some poison in the seeds.

Aquarists I trust recommend only oak, manzanita and one or two others for use 'fresh'.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

I think i am going to try it. Can anyone recommend a drying period? With firewood we usually wait a year, will it take that long?


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

depends on the thickness of the wood and where you are drying it


let me know how it works, ive got 10 acres of apple orchard that i can cut up for my tanks


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

I think I am going to try it. Can anyone recommend a drying period? With firewood, we usually wait a year, would it be similar?


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

so from what ive found online ive come to the conclusion you need to let it dry for 3/6 months if its green

and apple wood is safe, same with apple leaves


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## pistolpete (May 2, 2010)

Since you don't actually need to remove all the moisture content, it does not need to be dried all that long. Let it dry out for about a month and then stick it in the tank. IMO people get too worried about wood. Almost all fresh water bodies of water in the world have large amounts of wood in it. Fish don't seem to mind If you do at least 10% water changes a week then you will have no problems.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Alright, thanks everyone 

Ill let everyone know went we get the chainsaw out and if anyone wants some branches, let me know. I can probably arrange something.


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## angryinsect (Apr 21, 2010)

personally i would let it dry for a week or two, then start soaking it. i would let it soak for a couple of months doing regular water changes to remove any waste/toxins. a heavy dose of salt while soaking won't hurt either


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## pistolpete (May 2, 2010)

Apple wood is awesome for turning wooden bowls. Too bad I'm not closer, or I'd be over to grab a couple of bigger pieces


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## gimlid (Apr 23, 2010)

Apple is recommended to be chewed on by small mammals. We give it to our rabbits almost daily.
I doubt there are toxins in it, you never know what oils may be there though.



Ursus sapien said:


> You can argue that any hardwood (bark-stripped, thoroughly dried, presoaked before using) will be fine. However, when I was an aviculturalist, wood from certain fruit trees was known to cause poisoning in wood-chewing birds.The seeds of cherry and related fruits, including peaches, plums, almonds, pears, and apricots, contain cyanogenic glycosides. Apple was considered safe, but, it too, packs some poison in the seeds.
> 
> Aquarists I trust recommend only oak, manzanita and one or two others for use 'fresh'.


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## katienaha (May 9, 2010)

spit.fire said:


> depends on the thickness of the wood and where you are drying it
> 
> let me know how it works, ive got 10 acres of apple orchard that i can cut up for my tanks


If you have any trees with big burls on it... I want dibs. Not for my aquarium either... want to make a side table..


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## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

angryinsect said:


> personally i would let it dry for a week or two, then start soaking it. i would let it soak for a couple of months doing regular water changes to remove any waste/toxins. a heavy dose of salt while soaking won't hurt either


I have had several pieces of driftwood I collected from Harrison Lake completely submerged in a bathtub full of water for almost a year and some of it still floats when I remove the weights I use to hold it underwater. Funny, you would think the smaller pieces would water log sooner than the larger pieces but that is not the case. I have no idea what sort of wood it is but I am sure it is pieces of local woods that grow on the shore of Harrison Lake, maybe some fir and birch and alder, maybe some cedar. I do a water change on the bathtub every two weeks and let me tell you the water is usually very brown when it gets drained. The wood is now all a beautiful deep mahagony color and I plan to add that to my tank when I set it up...I know this will open a can of worms about cedar but the way I look at is that there are millions of cedar trees submerged in our lakes and rivers and streams and the fish survive...cant see that being any different in this case.


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## KevinPR (Aug 6, 2010)

Clownloachlover said:


> I have had several pieces of driftwood I collected from Harrison Lake completely submerged in a bathtub full of water for almost a year and some of it still floats when I remove the weights I use to hold it underwater. Funny, you would think the smaller pieces would water log sooner than the larger pieces but that is not the case. I have no idea what sort of wood it is but I am sure it is pieces of local woods that grow on the shore of Harrison Lake, maybe some fir and birch and alder, maybe some cedar. I do a water change on the bathtub every two weeks and let me tell you the water is usually very brown when it gets drained. The wood is now all a beautiful deep mahagony color and I plan to add that to my tank when I set it up...I know this will open a can of worms about cedar but the way I look at is that there are millions of cedar trees submerged in our lakes and rivers and streams and the fish survive...cant see that being any different in this case.


And wouldn't cedar be a very good one to use since it doesn't really rot?


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## darb (Apr 21, 2010)

Clownloachlover said:


> ...I know this will open a can of worms about cedar but the way I look at is that there are millions of cedar trees submerged in our lakes and rivers and streams and the fish survive...cant see that being any different in this case.


I am going to go out on a limb here and say that millions may be a bit of an exaggeration ... 

Undoubtedly true to some degree, but the actual volume of cedar trees to water in Slave Lake for example would be extremely high where as the volume of cedar to water in an aquarium would be the opposite. Then in rivers and streams you have a steady water flow diluting the toxins and carrying them away and in most all lakes you have some degree of water change also. There is truth in the saying "_the solution to pollution is dilutio_n" which hoilds true for mother nature as well.

Personally I would say that you very well could run into problems using a wood with toxins in a closed system such as an aquarium.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Okay guys, so after two weeks, the wood is looking great. I let it dry for 4 days, then put it in the tank right away (yes, i am impatient ). The pieces leaked tannins into the water for the first week, Then i took them out, Gave them a good scrub to remove any scum and placed them into another tank. They are already waterlogged, and they are leaching no tannins what so ever 

The one thing that is not so good, is the wood is a very light color. I am not sure it is going to darken. Not to worry though, i kinda like the look 

Ill be posting a few pics tomorrow,

Alex


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## Jorg (Nov 20, 2010)

I use apple wood in most of my Pleco tanks, here is a photo. They love munching on the bark


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

really? The bark has no effect on the water what so ever? 

Do you bleach it out or anything?


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## Jorg (Nov 20, 2010)

I always start with dead apple wood cuttings. You can't see it in the picture but I drill a 2' hole almost through the branch to make a cave. I just boil the wood till it sinks which takes around an hour. Boiling it also removes a lot of the tannins.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Unfortunately i am using pieces that are 3 feet long and 2 feet tall (branches) 

Any recommendations?


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

As promised here are some pictures

























Even in the past few days the wood has started to darken up more. Regardless, the fish love hiding in and amongst the branches


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

AWW said:


> Unfortunately i am using pieces that are 3 feet long and 2 feet tall (branches)
> 
> Any recommendations?


I recommend you part with a piece of that to make my new bunny Jaxon happy :bigsmile:


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Grete_J said:


> I recommend you part with a piece of that to make my new bunny Jaxon happy :bigsmile:


If you want to come on out here, ill give you some for sure


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Tree is out!  I have started stripping the bark off the stump, and have a pile of sticks 

Stump is 33" tall right now, and 20" wide. Will fit in my 30" tall X 18" 160 gallon when completed 

Opinions welcome! Oh, and the lighter part of the stump will turn the darker color.

















Sticks FREE to anyone who wants to come get them! I have the trunk also, I am keeping most of it for wood working later on, but will par with a few feet.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

aplewood is good also if u are smoking meat gives it a good taste , specaly turky or chicken


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## 4runner (Jul 15, 2010)

i like the stump, i think it will look nice. and i like the sticks too, looks good


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