whats the best Drift wood

Hay Guys i am trying to find out what kind of drift wood i can use. I heard you can use wood from the local river. is that ok if you cycle it?

 

the type that sinks ...

sorry couldnt resist

 

Lmga!!!

 

Most hard woods will do.

I'm actually wondering if you can carve hardwood into a shape and then let it leech.

 

most commonly used is mopani

 

A lot of wood will work. I even have bloekom roots in my tank with no issues. I have mopani but are getting tired of the plain look of it. You can't really scape with it. I have some acacia wood, which is very old and water worn. I am busy treating grapevine wood for aquarium use. As long as the wood is hard enough and will not rot and disintegrate. And it should not release toxins.

 

ok so also need some info regarding driftwood.

Looking at getting some wood thats easily accessible for my tank. Will be down in dbn next weekend and looking at getting some Guava tree branches and bamboo. Do you guys think that this would be ok for an aquarium> Has anyone used bamboo in their tanks?

Also read somewhere that weeping willow tree's are classified as hardwood. Is this true?

Anyone got a list of hardwood trees in JHB thats aquarium safe?

Thanks Kogan

 

Bamboo would look quite cool hey!! Don't know how well it would last? You could maybe bash out the segment sections with a heavy steel rod and fill the segments with sand to help it sink?

 

Yep thats exactly what i was going to do. I am hoping it would last due to the fact that it grows near rivers and that.

 

@Reedfish

Those are pretty hard to find around here! Would've loved having it in my tank...

 

agreed @Reedfish but need to know what tree's in JHB/DBN have these types of wood.

If i can get my hands on that info, i can start scouting around :driver:

 

In JHB you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting hardwood - in Pretoria there are plenty people bringing in braai wood from the northern province such as rooibos etc

The trick would probably be to know the source (it might not be what they say it is), and get a piece that's big enough and suits the look you want.

 

Check if your LFS can get you some spiderwood I love the stuff, slightly expensive but well worth it.

 

+1 Yeah around +-R120-R150 per kilo but its awesome stuff.

 

Yep the LFS is a bit pricey thats why im trying to get the stuff myself. Have two tanks to populate ...

 

I'm not quite sure what you were referring to, but rooibos is a shrub that grows in the western cape - I've never heard of rooibos wood. Let us know and we can correct the post for you!

Have you guys read this article? Its pretty helpful on the driftwood topic : http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?14231-How-to-make-your-own-driftwood

Also, yes, ppl have used bamboo, but dry it out first!

 

Damn, was hoping I could use normal green bamboo.

Nice article, thx tracy. Will be on the hunt for fruit tree's in Durbs:top: