OT Driftwood
- Thread starter aaronlp
- Start date
I ordered some from Tom Barr - he posts on here as plantbrain but he has his own forum, if you google his name + driftwood you'll find it - don't think I can link to it here. mine should be here today or tomorrow, I'll let you know when it gets here.
there is also the driftwood store (.com). their stuff looks pretty amazing.
there is also the driftwood store (.com). their stuff looks pretty amazing.
MD Ocean Girl
New member
If ABC doesn't have enough pieces in, I'm sure they'd order some in for you. If not, you can check Syracuse Aquariums and see if Chris has any pieces...it's been awhile since I've been there.
You can also go to one of the local lakes and pick up driftwood. I just wouldn't recommend Onondaga Lake. That's what I did with my freshwater tank, and I love it. Actually, all of the rock and driftwood in my tank came from Lake Ontario. You just have to make sure you soak the driftwood first or attach it to something heavy because anything collected from a lake is likely to float.
I would NOT use any rock meant for a saltwater tank in a freshwater tank. Just as you should never put any rock from a freshwater source in a saltwater tank. You can either buy pieces from one of the LFS or go to a lake and collect natural rock. If you're going to buy rock, petrified wood looks great, but is heavy. If you're really interested, I might have some rock left over from my freshwater setups that I'd be willing to sell to you cheaply.
mr86mister
Saltaholic
I agree with Karen. If you are going to pick up wild pieces you would want to go to Lake Ontario. The Eastern shores will be the best place being the wind direction usually brings everything east. IMO, I would let it dry out for a few months to make sure all bacteria is dead on the rock and in the rock. Though there may be a few different ways to to clean the wood.
MD Ocean Girl
New member
For the rock I collected, I just boiled it for a bit in a pot, and then let it dry out before I put it in my tank.
As for the driftwood, I got it wet, gave it a good scrubbing with a green scrubber pad, and then let it soak in hot water for awhile. I had to put rocks on top of it to get it somewhat water logged. With smaller pieces of driftwood, I scrubbed it, and then boiled it for a bit, like I did with the rock, before I used it. You'll get some tannins in the water even with driftwood from Lake Ontario, but I don't really mind it since it makes the tank look more natural. If you're really concerned about tannins leaching into the water, you're going to have to boil and/or soak the wood for a lot longer, and change the water multiple times to get a lot of the tannins to leach out.
I used a bit of aquarium epoxy and some brown thread to attach pieces of wood and/or rock together, as well as attaching any java fern, etc to the rock/woodwork I had.
I haven't had any issues with my tanks with treating the driftwood and rock this way. I don't know if it's the correct way, but it's worked for me. I'll post some pictures up soon of what my tanks look like.
Is this because the wood lowers the pH?
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I would second Syracuse Aquarium in Jamesville. They always have a bunch of interesting pieces and the prices are pretty good.
(Fritz, the "tree stump" piece in my frog tank came from there).
(Fritz, the "tree stump" piece in my frog tank came from there).
so, I got my Tom Barr driftwood. it is close to the best piece I've ever seen. cost $45 plus $25 shipping - I asked him to throw in some extra pieces and charge me whatever, and he threw in a bunch and didn't charge me anything. also wouldn't accept payment until it arrived. highly recommended.
I'll have to take a pic...
I'll have to take a pic...
