# Branch type driftwood??



## MDChurch (Dec 13, 2008)

Not sure if this is the place to put this or not? I am looking for a source for branch type driftwood for aquascaping. Most of the online sites offer chunks or parts of branches. I'm looking for some thinner branch types to fit a 55gal. tank. Any ideas?? Thanks

MDChurch


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## jnaz (May 18, 2007)

you should try the For sale or trade section of this site. There is a member by the name of Fishand TurtleJunkie that I have bought from in the past and many others have bought from that sells the type of driftwood you are looking for. They sell all types of packages and I am sure you will find one that fits your needs.


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## jrb77 (Sep 9, 2008)

Check out this thread in For Sale & Trade:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=47477&highlight=DRIFTWOOD&page=38

PM FishandTurtleJunkie about packages he sells.......

(Ninja'd by JNAZ)


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## npnailer (Apr 16, 2007)

After just a brief look on line, I opted for the real stuff, right out of the woods. A week or two soaking in a large trash bin, and here is what I ended up with.

(that being said...I have some cool small bits of wood from Preuss' pets in Lansing, MI, in there.)


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## Makoto (Nov 6, 2008)

^^ That aint look too good, i wouldn't recommend putting anything else in there until the water becomes Crystal clear.


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## npnailer (Apr 16, 2007)

Makoto said:


> ^^ That aint look too good, i wouldn't recommend putting anything else in there until the water becomes Crystal clear.


Um..you ARE familiar with tannins, I hope? Blackwater areas, which are in effect any area where the water is softened by extensive exposure to wood(such as most rain forest backwaters), almost universally have stained, tea colored water. Indeed...many of the fish used in the hobby are from these areas(most tetras, and many others) and this "not too good" looks is beneficial to them.
I greatly prefer the water in my tank to have natural tannins and dye's and to NOT be crystal clear.
You may of course, have a different opinion, and prefer gin clear water. To each their own..but trust me, the fish prefer it with some color.


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

What kind of trees are in the woods?

Putting pine of any kind in your tank is a really easy way to kill any potential livestock you know. 

manzanita.com would have been my recommendation. They are simply great to work with, call them, tell them what you want, they hand pick it per your preference and ship it to you. Small or large orders pack sizes. 

Large is more wood than I'd need for probably 2-3+ setups like what you showed (6' tank, yes?), and costs like ~$110 delivered.


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## angel_saza (Dec 29, 2008)

i'd like to know what type of wood that is as well..


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## andrewg (Jul 27, 2008)

The reason we use driftwood is it's origin and it's history. Years, decades, and possibly centuries of harsh conditions weather the wood down to the finished product--hopefully resulting in a piece free of fungi, bacteria, toxins, parasites, etc. You should reconsider putting that wood into your aquarium. (unless of course you gathered the proper type of wood, boiled it many times over, left it in the sun to dry and bake for at least 6 months, and sandblasted it, and then boiled it a few more times)


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## npnailer (Apr 16, 2007)

andrewg said:


> The reason we use driftwood is it's origin and it's history. Years, decades, and possibly centuries of harsh conditions weather the wood down to the finished product--hopefully resulting in a piece free of fungi, bacteria, toxins, parasites, etc. You should reconsider putting that wood into your aquarium. (unless of course you gathered the proper type of wood, boiled it many times over, left it in the sun to dry and bake for at least 6 months, and sandblasted it, and then boiled it a few more times)


To each their own, I guess...
The reason I myself use wood is that it's a natural product I can gather myself(therefore...I manage the quality control), it looks great, the fish feel much more at home with it in the tank, and it adds beneficial tannins and nutrients to the water column.
I feel most people do not give either their fish or mother nature enough credit, and are stuck on "store bought" everything. Even my fish, with a few exceptions, are wild caught(all with proper permits before anyone get's their panties in a twist) and they are very happy in a tank with "free range" wood. Mother nature has had a long, long time to create fish that actually manage to exist with a few bugs in the water...and to date, I will put the health and "happiness" of my fish up against anyone, any place. I manage some rather difficult species(cold water darters for example), with minimal loss.
In this case, this is northern pin oak. I am very aware of the potential problems with using softwoods, although some such as cedar is perfectly ok with some precaution(use wood already in the river/lake). 
This wood is from a storm toppled tree, about 3 years down and was NOT boiled. I prefer to treat my wood naturally, allowing it to soak for a few weeks to a month or so, until it sinks. I WANT the tannins that naturally leach from the wood to remain as long as possible as these actually benefit most fish(obviously a few hard water species being the exception.), and are easily manageable using either charcoal or purigen. Any non aquatic parasites obviously will perish or move on during the soaking process, and fungus seems to be common to almost all new wood, both wild and purchased(and...it's totally harmless). I have also used naturally sunk wood to great effect in my current set up, and..horror of horrors..it was SOFTWOOD(run....hide the children!). To date, that tank has been set up for about a year and a half, and for those who know fish...it's housing 13 rainbow darters, 6 umbra limi, and 4 black banded sunfish. The BB sunnies have been at home now for 9 months give or take, and are in perfect condition. That alone will tell anyone with extensive fish keeping knowledge, just how "dangerous" naturally collected wood is..
Obviously precautions are always needed, you don't just dump something into a tank full of discus without making sure it's fish safe...but IMO any wood from a source that is clean, and has a healthy population of fish...is by definition, fish safe. If you are housing very small fish that might fall victim to any toothy residents...then a half hour soak in a 2 percent bleach solution will solve that issue(followed of course with the proper regimen to dechlorinate the wood).
I don't mean to be harsh..but I am honestly surprised by the vehemence with the idea of self collection of wood. 
The above described regimen of multiple boiling followed by a boil/dry cycle is of course fine if you are that worried about introducing a bit of real nature into your tank. But..I prefer to allow the fish to experience captivity with as much resemblance to their real home, as possible, and naturally collected wood(and plants, and rocks, and substrate for that matter) all go far toward doing this.
Indeed..if you want to witness activity that normally sterile captive enclosures do not allow..put some "raw" wood taken from a local lake or stream into a tank. The fish very quickly learn that it's got all the little wiggly goodies that they evolved to hunt and eat, and they recover actions that are far more interesting then the normal swiming in circles. They...hunt.
NONE of the above is meant as an attack on the use of store bought wood. For many of you, that is for any number of reasons the only option you have, and even if not, and you prefer to purchase...great, that's the American way!
However...trying to scare people away from the idea of using wood(or plants, or rocks, or substrate) from nature herself...is a terrible disservice to the hobby, IMO, in particular when it actually allows us to keep some tenuous link to the true nature of what we are trying to replicate.
Bottom line is you can do all of that to a stick you found in the woods, and no doubt by the end of the time spent, it will be very aquarium safe indeed.
OR...you can drop it into the tank after an hours observation if already sunk(to make sure no meanies are aboard), or a few weeks time to waterlog an already dried, dead piece of wood(I never use green...while the end results would be the same, it just takes much longer, and even I don't need the water to look like iced tea!).
Sorry for the massive derail.but I stand firm in my belief that my tanks, using a majority of "wild cauth" wood...are as nice looking and safe as any.
Oh..and the wood cost me less then $3 if you figure in the mileage I get in my jeep, and the distance it took to go harvest it and back.
That is a $117 savings, AND, I get to hand pick exactly the size and look I want.
I figure, that's a no brainier if you have the time and location to collect for yourself. 
OK..end of Rant, I'm sure most of you still think that actual natural wood will kill all your fish, take the last beer from the fridge, and sleep with your dog...but, hey, just buy more beer!


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## andrewg (Jul 27, 2008)

I like the rant. Of course naturally collected wood is fine if the aquarium owner makes smart choices. I've seen many, i hate this term, newbies drop wood from their backyard into their tank, and the same goes with water-chemistry-altering rocks. I'm sure you've done your homework, but other members that read these threads haven't. If you had included the opinions of your last post in the first one, I'm sure it would not have warranted such a response.

For what it's worth, I like the tank, now put some plants in there and start a journal.


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## npnailer (Apr 16, 2007)

andrewg said:


> I like the rant. Of course naturally collected wood is fine if the aquarium owner makes smart choices. I've seen many, i hate this term, newbies drop wood from their backyard into their tank, and the same goes with water-chemistry-altering rocks. I'm sure you've done your homework, but other members that read these threads haven't. If you had included the opinions of your last post in the first one, I'm sure it would not have warranted such a response.
> 
> For what it's worth, I like the tank, now put some plants in there and start a journal.


lol, thanks, and I do plan on adding plants, once the wood is fully cured.
That being the case..other then soaking it long enough to waterlog it, most backyard wood that has dried out and is dead is safe, even softwoods(pines, spruce, that sort of thing for the uninitiated).
My point is that it's free(or nearly so) and I've yet to see a piece offered at any price, that I could not duplicate(in effect) within half an hours walk in any woods. 
I guess my reaction was as much to the fact that most of the fish kept in planted tanks come from waters that are naturally high in tannins and "crud", and thus, the tea color that an early poster said was "bad" is actually about the best home you could offer many of the fish.


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

I'll take that bet. You'll never duplicate manzanita with oaks, pines, or anything I've seen on the East Coast. 

Show me something that looks like this:


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## npnailer (Apr 16, 2007)

Um....ok...
take your pick.










This is, other then a couple of small pieces of Asian driftwood, all locally procured. Took me about 20 minutes to find, and is just about cured.
I prefer tree-like pieces that looks more natural, therefore I look mainly for branching and naturally twisted pieces. The very twisted, often woven root sections of wind blown or winter killed trees also are excellent. The image shown contains both. It should also be noted that the person who started this thread, was specific in that they were looking for branch type wood. Va being heavily wooded, I figured I'd point out that that very type would be easy to find.
Manzanita is of course very nice, but it's a bush...lots of bushes out there, many in the east with the same twisty characteristics as that. The one you referenced is oddly bent, and honestly does not do much for me. Lots of that kind of thing in root masses though, if that's what you like.
Like I said ,give me a half hour in any reasonable sized wood, and I'll find pieces as nice as you can buy on line, and I'll have the gratification of having gone out and gotten it myself. I again need to point out that I'm not saying purchased wood is bad..but, that finding your own is easy, and rewarding.


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## equinecpa (Feb 13, 2005)

I picked up some really gnarly roots by the lake close to me and have poured boiling water over them, and they are now sitting in a bucket 10 parts water 1 part bleach. 

How long does it usually take for them to STOP releasing tannins and be cured?


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## natureman187 (Aug 15, 2007)

Depends on what type of tree it's from. I prefer oaks of some sort. Hard woods seem to leach the less, though locust never quit for me. Remember your bleach solution takes awhile to soak in and awhile to diffuse out.
There's nothing wrong with backyard branches...nothing wrong with backyard soil either, same deal there's just not a book about it yet 


Beautiful setup Paul, Have any current pictures?


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