# dirty looking piece of wood



## fidelasg (Oct 23, 2006)

Well I got this piece of wood that was once used by my iguana and he is too big for it now. I dont know if I should even use it because it looks like its defected or something :S What do you guys think?

I didnt even wash it yet

VIDEO OF IT


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

i wouldnt, i dont think that piece would look good in a tank anyhow.


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

Don't Risk it!


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## fidelasg (Oct 23, 2006)

k thanks

what does the wood have?

could a piece of wood have a disease?


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## fidelasg (Oct 23, 2006)

just wondering :S


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

fidelasg said:


> k thanks
> 
> what does the wood have?
> 
> could a piece of wood have a disease?


Not a disease but probably bits of leftover feces that will cause bacteria blooms and possibly mold.


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## Morpheus (Feb 12, 2004)

If its from a reptile tank its probably a vine , dont use it, it will rot in your tank. I tried using vine once because some dumb LFS person told me it would be ok. It started to rot after about 3 days. Also they dont lose their bouyancy.
Buy some mopani bogwood instead.


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## Linford (Oct 26, 2006)

If you are going to use bog wood, remember:

- Boil the wood first. Not only does this kill barcteria or any fugus parasites, but it also waterlogs the wood, making it more able to sink and stay at the bottom of your tank.

- Cook the wood. By cooking the wood in the overn this kills alot of bad bacteria etc... but i have found it has a tendancy to give wood the 'cork' effect. This makes it dry, brittle and float!

- Bolt the wood down. Using non rusting screws, bolt or pin your wood down to a piece of plasticard, sprinkle sand/gravel/substrate over plastic and looks great. Just remember to not use rusting pins or screws for this job, bad for fish and water quality!

- Tie the wood down. Same as above but use garden plastic coated, non rusting wire, add a bit of plasticard and there you go.

Hope this helps you.


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## Morpheus (Feb 12, 2004)

Linford said:


> If you are going to use bog wood, remember:
> 
> - Boil the wood first. Not only does this kill barcteria or any fugus parasites, but it also waterlogs the wood, making it more able to sink and stay at the bottom of your tank.
> 
> ...


*Not * to use rusting pins i think that was meant to say!

Boil it and cook it, Hell of a lot of work for a piece of wood!









I just soak mine for 2-3days then put it in the tank, but I buy mine from Pets at Home so its prob not covered in bacteria etc


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## eiji (Sep 16, 2006)

i wouldnt do it if i were you, but then if you will, clean it well..


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## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

Don't Do It


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## Linford (Oct 26, 2006)

Morpheus said:


> If you are going to use bog wood, remember:
> 
> - Boil the wood first. Not only does this kill barcteria or any fugus parasites, but it also waterlogs the wood, making it more able to sink and stay at the bottom of your tank.
> 
> ...


*Not * to use rusting pins i think that was meant to say!

Boil it and cook it, Hell of a lot of work for a piece of wood!










I just soak mine for 2-3days then put it in the tank, but I buy mine from Pets at Home so its prob not covered in bacteria etc
[/quote]

lol thanks, changed it now, lol. These are different methods/options and not steps to one way of killing bacteria on bog wood (otherwise it would be alot of work) lol.


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## fidelasg (Oct 23, 2006)

Morpheus said:


> If its from a reptile tank its probably a vine , dont use it, it will rot in your tank. I tried using vine once because some dumb LFS person told me it would be ok. It started to rot after about 3 days. Also they dont lose their bouyancy.
> Buy some mopani bogwood instead.


mopani bogwood? where do I find/purchase this?

are the wood from the stores overpirced or do they sell at good price?

My LFS's sell wood very expensively









I wont put the wood in . Thanks guys


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## NIH23 (Aug 18, 2006)

yeah dont use it


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## begleytree (Nov 1, 2006)

Bawb2u said:


> k thanks
> 
> what does the wood have?
> 
> could a piece of wood have a disease?


Not a disease but probably bits of leftover feces that will cause bacteria blooms and possibly mold.
[/quote]

yes, wood can have pathogens still growing, or harbored in it. the types are dependant upon species of (woody) plant. simply boiling in water will not kill all pathogens in all plants/wood. but what difference would it make? plant pathogens are very unlikely to harm a fish to begin with. 
most driftwood found in streams and rivers in the eastern US is likely sycamore, known to contract anthracnose (probably why it was dead and in the water to begin with)
and before everyone starts saying how wrong I am about this, I am an internationally certified arborist, I hold a BS in ag sciences, I own a tree service company, and I am a teaching asst at XX to the prof of dendrology. doubt it will stop some know-it-all from running off at the mouth though.
-Ralph


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## Linford (Oct 26, 2006)

Ralph said:


> k thanks
> 
> what does the wood have?
> 
> could a piece of wood have a disease?


Not a disease but probably bits of leftover feces that will cause bacteria blooms and possibly mold.
[/quote]

yes, wood can have pathogens still growing, or harbored in it. the types are dependant upon species of (woody) plant. simply boiling in water will not kill all pathogens in all plants/wood. but what difference would it make? plant pathogens are very unlikely to harm a fish to begin with. 
most driftwood found in streams and rivers in the eastern US is likely sycamore, known to contract anthracnose (probably why it was dead and in the water to begin with)
and before everyone starts saying how wrong I am about this, I am an internationally certified arborist, I hold a BS in ag sciences, I own a tree service company, and I am a teaching asst at XX to the prof of dendrology. doubt it will stop some know-it-all from running off at the mouth though.
-Ralph
[/quote]

lol, you deffinatly killed em in advance tiger! lol, yea again dont use the wood, fork out a bit of money and buy some!


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## the_skdster (Aug 15, 2006)

Do I need to even post a reply?
DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!


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## begleytree (Nov 1, 2006)

the_skdster said:


> Do I need to even post a reply?
> DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!


dunno. have you asked giggles if you're allowed to yet? might want to pull your head out a bit so you can hear him better








-Ralph


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## Morpheus (Feb 12, 2004)

fidelasg said:


> If its from a reptile tank its probably a vine , dont use it, it will rot in your tank. I tried using vine once because some dumb LFS person told me it would be ok. It started to rot after about 3 days. Also they dont lose their bouyancy.
> Buy some mopani bogwood instead.


mopani bogwood? where do I find/purchase this?

are the wood from the stores overpirced or do they sell at good price?

My LFS's sell wood very expensively









I wont put the wood in . Thanks guys 
[/quote]

I bought mine from "Pets at home" which is prob called Petsmart or similar over in the US, im not sure.
I also got some off Ebay. Search mopani bogwood on there.


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## fidelasg (Oct 23, 2006)

k what did you pay for yours?


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

Lets consider that all wood has to come from somewhere. before it gets to you that bog wood or M. Drift wood came from a lake or river or somewhere and I'm sure it was probably somewhat dirty when they picked it from the ground and decided some body somewhere in the world woud buy it for way more then they should.
Then they cleaned it. probably pressure washed it maybe even disinfected it and then let it dry. once it loked all nice and stuff they shipped it to your LFS. 
So so what if it "Might" contain some pathogens or soem bacteira or old feces. All the wood that is currently in our tanks could have at one point.

Self found wood simply needs to be prepped properly before you toss it in your tank. Also make sure that it is a hard wood and not one that will rot away.

Step 1 get all the lose sh*t off of it mud, weeds, bark. Take a focused nossle hose or pressure washer and go to work. once its nice and cleaned off. 
its time to disinfect.
this can be done a couple different ways. 
If the peice is small enough boil it. 
This will accomplish two things. 1 it will force the wood to expand and suck in water. and two it will hopefully kill anything that may be living on or in the wood. 
If the peice is too large to be boiled then get yourself a rubbermaid tub and give it a bleach wash. mix 1/10ratio of bleach with water and let the peice sit in it for a little while. Say 30min - 1hr. then you will want to rinse the peice off really really good.

(If bleach makes you nervious you can use a large amount of concentrated lemon juice and apply directly to the peice.)

At this point personally I would dump the bleach water and refill with water with a VERY heavy treatment of dechlor. this will neutralize the bleach. let it sit there for a little while. rinse again. And then the peice is ready for usage. 
If the peice sinks on its own great. if not you can use some of the above mentioned methods for sinking a floating peice of wood.


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

BlackSunshine said:


> Lets consider that all wood has to come from somewhere. before it gets to you that bog wood or M. Drift wood came from a lake or river or somewhere and I'm sure it was probably somewhat dirty when they picked it from the ground and decided some body somewhere in the world woud buy it for way more then they should.
> Then they cleaned it. probably pressure washed it maybe even disinfected it and then let it dry. once it loked all nice and stuff they shipped it to your LFS.
> So so what if it "Might" contain some pathogens or soem bacteira or old feces. All the wood that is currently in our tanks could have at one point.
> 
> ...


that should have its own thread and be pinned.







(if anything else on the subject isnt already)


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