# What types of drift wood can be safely used in tanks?



## Curator (Feb 20, 2009)

I can get tons of driftwood from my local beach or river, all sorts of cool stuff, but i want to know, are there any particular types of wood that would be unsafe to use in a tank for crystal shrimp and Neon tetras...


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

i think that i would leave the stuff at the beach alone.
But anything that you find around the river should be okay provided that it has been weathered for a long time and is very old. avoid soft woods and go for the hard stuff.

It is a good idea to boil it first or bake it in the oven at around 200 degrees for a while before adding it though so that you dont introduce any potential junk into the tank like worms or bacteria that might be on there.


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## Curator (Feb 20, 2009)

k, why not the stuff at the beach though? the salt? cant that be boiled out? but I was also wondering about different types of wood, by soft woods you basically mean conifers right? like pine, redwood(that one is a bit obvious...lol), that sorta stuff? but things like madrone, alder, and oak should be ok?


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## Red River (Feb 21, 2009)

Curator said:


> I was also wondering about different types of wood, by soft woods you basically mean conifers right? like pine, redwood(that one is a bit obvious...lol), that sorta stuff? but things like madrone, alder, and oak should be ok?


After pricing out driftwood at the LFS, I am curious to know the answer to this as well. Lots of Oak and Madrone in my neck of the woods... and best of all, FREE! 

Red River


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## timleete (Oct 22, 2008)

i got my drift wood from the beach 

i soked it in the barth for about 2 and a half weeks changed tha barrth water 1 time a week and scrubed it a few times with a metal scouer


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## amano101 (Dec 21, 2008)

you want to be careful of what different types of wood may leach. people usually buy manzanita for its beauty, and its aquarium safe. there are also many types of root wood and petrified wood that people buy for the same reason. I would worry about the types bacteria that may be on beach driftwood but i don't know. get the wood from a clean place and strip the bark. boil it thoroughly and soak it for a while (to help leach tannins and to help sink if it doesn't already). i would listen to discus. there is a lot of great wood sold in the swap n shop, here on the forum.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

I would stay away from any Pine.

I put cottonwood into my tank. Found it in a river, pressure washed everything off of it at the car wash, soaked it with a little bleach and hot water for a couple of days, then cold water for a week changed every day. It hasn't leached anything yet (only been in there for 'bout a week and a half) and the fish don't seem to mind it.

My $0.02

Aaron


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