# Oak wood



## Beaver (Mar 27, 2007)

I just picked up some nice Oak wood from a friends cottage this weekend.
After i let it dry, take all the bark off, kill everything and all that jazz. Will this wood be ok for my aquarium? It is one of Canada's hardest wood.

Nate


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## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

I'm no expert but the books I read said many hardwoods can be used in aquariums after "cured" (all that jazz). They also said that coating them with clear varnish will slow down the rotting process.


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## jrh (Sep 6, 2007)

I used to use oak leaves to add tanins to a krib tank, so I guess oak wood should be fine after it dries.


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## Beaver (Mar 27, 2007)

this is good to hear. 

Now whats the best way to get this bark off? 
I was going to leave it on my belcony for a while, and hope the winter air will dry it out enough and then try to pull it off?

or would it be bad if i left it on?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

usually you strip off the bark. In the tank, it'll strip off and make a mess. It should peel off easily when cured. You might want to let it sit in water over the winter.
Throw in some salt to keep bugs and bacteria out of the water.. 

I went fishing over the weekend, boy, there were lots of bog/drift wood.


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## Beaver (Mar 27, 2007)

thats what i will do. But i hope it will be ready just after christmas!


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

I have used texas live oak before
no varnish, just a nice old piece I found. Leeched tanins like crazy but lasted a long time before I pulled it out. Plecos loved it. I have even used "soft woods" such as cedar stumps. I still have a few pieces that have been in a tank for over 10 years. Plecos rrrrreally loved it, does not look the same as it did 10 years ago. Problem I have encountered wit "soft woods" is that the tanins will leech for a loooong time. Luckly at the time I was and still do Amazon tanks and the tanin was a welcomed addition.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

cedar really?
Cedar has some noxious sap in them. They're resistent to fungus etc...


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

Cedar really
I was cedar that I found at my grandfathers place in central Texas. Central Texas has the tendency to be on the dry side, so by the time I received the cedar it was fully dry and devoid of sap.

Had it in the tank with discus, so it could not have been that bad.


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## Beaver (Mar 27, 2007)

interesting.
Well i don't think i have anything to worry about then. 

I have always herd bad things about useing soft wood or evergreens, thats why i was trying to get the hardest i could find.

i can't wait to set this tank up!


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

I do want to make a minor clarification, the cedar I used is the stuff tha grows nativly in central Texas and the parts were form the root/main trunk of the tree. Those parts tend to be more dense than the branches, and like I said it was fully dry.

On the same note. I have also sucessfully used mesquite wood, anouther Texas wood. Considered a hard wood. Broke my dads heart when the amount I used ended up in the tank instead of the BBQ pit.


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