PlanetCatfish.com

(hopefully this is posted in an appropriate forum room, i wasnt sure which i should use)

i have been thinking of collecting driftwood from one of my local lochs (lakes) partly as the selection of bogwood and mopani wood is limited and costly here plus i never seem to see any realy big bits.

i have used rocks before that i have collected from various sources. i usualy clean them thoroughly with hot water and a scrubbing brush (no chemicals) then pour over lots of boiling water to steralise them. touch wood (pardon the pun) i have never had a problem from this.

basicaly i am wondering if i collect driftwoof what is the best way to make it safe. are there any chemicals that i should try and will boiling water work with wood. i am worried that boiling might split it or make it fall apart.

any advice would be appreciated.

I think that boiling it would be the best way to go. I would caution that you identify
the type of wood your collecting as some woods such as cedar can be toxic.
I one killed a very nice Royal pleco with a piece of white cedar I collected from a local river.
Personally I prefer African root (Swahala also called Mopani) but others seem to prefer
Malaysian wood. I know that African root is safe for wood eating plecos and it lasts
a very long time in the aquarium.

i always boil the wood i put in for about 5 minutes. That usually does the trick

And to quote Shane, big pieces go quite nicely in the dishwasher. If you search for "How do I clean driftwood", in the forum search, you'll find something useful.

The other way to get wood for your tank is to take/cut pieces of trees in your garden (or a nearby forest, although the owner may [rightly!] not appreciaete you cutting branches off the trees in the forest! Smallish fallen off bits(a couple of inches thick and a few foot long) would be fair game tho', as long as you don't clear the whole forest of fallen off bits.]

Oak, beech, cherry, apple - any leafy tree really, works fine. Branches of pine or spruce may contain stuff that you don't really want in the tank - not a good idea I would think...

Obviously, your local DIY shop/garden centre would possibly also have pieces of wood that may work - but avoid anything that has been treated in any way.

Of course, dry wood needs waterlogging - you need to put it in a bucket/tub of water until it's at least almost sinking...

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Mats