# deck screws to attach driftwood to rocks?



## celaeno (Dec 26, 2009)

can i use deckmate deck screws instead of stainless steel ones to attach driftwood to rocks? are deck screws aquarium safe?


----------



## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

celaeno said:


> can i use deckmate deck screws instead of stainless steel ones to attach driftwood to rocks? are deck screws aquarium safe?


Only screws that are truly aquarium safe are stainless steel screws. Will the deck screws kill your fish instantly ... probably not, but they aren't truly safe either most likely. The only real way to know if they might happen to be safe would be to find out exactly which metals and paints are used in those screws ... probably not an easy feat since you'd have to contact the manufacturer, etc. That's why stainless steel screws are usually used, since you can usually find out which allow is used (most often 18.8) and it's standard across all manufacturers and we know this allow is safe, etc.

Harry


----------



## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Honestly when I was a kid I used whatever was around and can remember a lot of rusty screws holding my wood in place...lol...I never lost any fish from it, but I can't tell you what it may have done to water parameters over time.

Now days I would suggest just running to Home Depot or wherever and grabbing some stainless screws. Only a few bucks or less for some peace of mind. Zip ties work as well if you're creative.


----------



## Franco (Jun 13, 2010)

Treated screw like you would use for an outdoor deck often times have arsenic and other nasty chemicals in them. Stainless steel are like the same price so why not do the sure thing. I don't like buying anything new either if I can MacGyver something else to work. 

This might be obvious but don't use green treated wood in tanks. Friend did that and his fish were dead within hours.


----------



## houstonhobby (Dec 12, 2008)

A little more work perhaps but a good way to hold wood together is with treenails. Get some of those bamboo skewers they sell at the grocery store and drill holes in the wood slightly smaller in diameter. Drive a skewer thru the pieces you want to hold together and cut off the extra.

This is the way wooden ships were built. It will last forever and doesn't put any weird chemicals in your water.


----------



## celaeno (Dec 26, 2009)

thanks for all the replies. i've decided to use stainless steel screws. does it matter if they're wood or sheet metal screws as long as they're stainless steel?

also, would i have to drill a pilot hole thru the rock (it's about an inch thick)?


----------



## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

Yes, you'd have to drill a hole in the rock for the screw. Sorry. 
A masonry bit may make an easy, or easier ob of the work. Small inexpensive ones are usually a couple of bucks at the home improvement stores. They won't last like a better quality bit, but if you only have one or two holes it will save you money. 
Slate is the usual rock for holding drift wood down because it's thin. 

Wood or sheet metal SS screws will both work. SS Deck screws are usually the easiest to come by so that's what most would use. 

A possibly easier solution would be epoxy. Yes, eventually the wood will rot enough to be free of the epoxy, but that should be years down the road and it may not float by then.


----------

