Drift wood or no

[LDPatton]

I live in a state that has an abundance of pine trees but no hard wood trees like oak. I have read about not using pine trees for drift wood. Will pine tree wood ever weather to a point its safe to use in aquariums? Would it make any difference if you collected the wood from
Lakes where it has been soaked for a long time?
Heres a few pics of old weathered pine wood. These are to far gone but I doubt this wood will leach anything into water if it was placed into an aquarium.

Has anyone used pine wood that had been sitting out long enough to be totally dried out? I see people use wood they find at the beach and it seems to be good. How do they know where that wood came from?

 

[neutrino]

I don't know a definitive answer to that, I have seen people do it after it was well weathered or soaked, etc. I've used my share of unidentified driftwood, couldn't say if any was pine or spruce, etc.

Any aspen or cottonwoods? Don't know how durable they'd be underwater, didn't collect my own driftwood at the time, but I lived in Colorado for ten years, 8000 ft elevation and higher in my area, aspen were plentiful and a good bit of cottonwood in some places, also some alder, even the occasional ash in the right spot. That said, don't know where you are or what you have there.

 

[tlindsey]

Read post #10https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...s-not-leach-tanins-and-stain-my-water.360015/

 

[LDPatton]

I wish I had better trees to select from lol. Its not to expensive ordering but I always see nice gnarly looking wood in the woods that would look really good in an aquarium. I do have a buddy that just bought a house that has an oak tree. He said he will look for dead branches and give them to me if it has any.
neutrino I live in MT. People have planted oak and other hard woods on their property but no one ever seems to have wood to give away. The only wood that I have ever seen on public land has been apple trees. At the time I didnt have aquariums so I didnt think to look for any good branches or stumps. I may have to go back to that area and see if theres any dead wood from the trees or a dead tree.

 

[neutrino]

Read post #10https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...s-not-leach-tanins-and-stain-my-water.360015/

Good post, but there's a common misconception in it. Basically, hardwoods are the deciduous trees and softwoods are confiers like pine, spruce, cedar. Some very soft and light wood species are technically hardwoods and some dense and hard species are technically softwoods.

The harder hardwoods are harder than most softwoods, some much harder. There's a hardness scale for wood, pecan and hickory are over 1800, hard maple 1450, white oak 1350. Cherry's in the middle, 950, only slightly higher than eastern red cedar (softwood). Many common hardwoods are softer, some much softer, aspen is only 350-- balsa wood is technically a hardwood. Yew is a hard softwood, hardness 1600.

That's not all. Working with wood (carved bowls, root sculptures, etc), I find hardness doesn't always equal resistance to weathering, decay, or moisture, it's more about chemistry. Cherry decays faster than walnut, which is quite durable, actually, yet they're similar in hardness; the exception is some cherry burls that are pretty durable in weather (oddly, other cherry burls are not at all). Eastern red cedar is only slightly softer than cherry but FAR more weather and moisture resistant, seems almost indestructible. Centuries old white cedar that was mined from swamps (and used on buildings early in this country's history) is the source of the notion that cedar siding is weather proof without special care-- except that today's cedar siding is western red cedar and not as durable.

(eastern and western red cedar are two different trees-- eastern red cedar is technically a juniper)

 

[tlindsey]

Good post, but there's a common misconception in it. Basically, hardwoods are the deciduous trees and softwoods are confiers like pine, spruce, cedar. Some very soft and light wood species are technically hardwoods and some dense and hard species are technically softwoods.

The harder hardwoods are harder than most softwoods, some much harder. There's a hardness scale for wood, pecan and hickory are over 1800, hard maple 1450, white oak 1350. Cherry's in the middle, 950, only slightly higher than eastern red cedar (softwood). Many common hardwoods are softer, some much softer, aspen is only 350-- balsa wood is technically a hardwood. Yew is a hard softwood, hardness 1600.

That's not all. Working with wood (carved bowls, root sculptures, etc), I find hardness doesn't always equal resistance to weathering, decay, or moisture, it's more about chemistry. Cherry decays faster than walnut, which is quite durable, actually, yet they're similar in hardness; the exception is some cherry burls that are pretty durable in weather (oddly, other cherry burls are not at all). Eastern red cedar is only slightly softer than cherry but FAR more weather and moisture resistant, seems almost indestructible. Centuries old white cedar that was mined from swamps (and used on buildings early in this country's history) is the source of the notion that cedar siding is weather proof without special care-- except that today's cedar siding is western red cedar and not as durable.

(eastern and western red cedar are two different trees-- eastern red cedar is technically a juniper)

Thanks for sharing I learn something new everyday.

 

[jjohnwm]

Another thing to consider is that "driftwood" refers to wood that has actually washed up on shore after prolonged exposure/soaking in water. The softer bits and bark are long gone, worn away by exposure and abrasion. What's left is pretty inert and usually safe for aquarium use. Back when I lived along the Great Lakes I picked up lots of this stuff and never had a problem, aside from the fact that it is so dry that it takes forever to waterlog and sink. Never an issue with tannin staining; the older, the better.

The pics in the first post don't look like actual driftwood to me; rather, it just looks like old dead wood found on the ground. Might be safe if it's old enough, but it's difficult to find wood that has been dead on the ground that long without having rotted away. If there is any dampness inside the wood I wouldn't use it. That's the stuff most likely to develop that ugly white mold or fungus when placed in the water.

 

[neutrino]

Basically agree with jjohnwm. I find some people call any found wood driftwood, some make a distinction and use terms like bogwood. I'm not especially fussy over it, but technically most of my 'driftwood' comes from the woods... either way it becomes driftwood in my tank.

I look for stuff that's weathered but still sound enough for my purpose, then blast away rotted bits with a power washer (or at a car wash), clean and soak thoroughly, or boil what I can fit in a pot. I've used bleach in the past, which you can do if you let it dry thoroughly enough, but anymore I rely on heat to kill any undesirables in the wood-- I've even put pieces in the oven, which can be done if you're careful. Some pieces I've collected do initially develop a whitish fungus, but it's harmless and doesn't last long ime.

 

[LDPatton]

jjohnwm yes the wood in the pic is not driftwood I just used them as examples of the type of wood I have in my area. I always wondered about the posts and videos I have seen with people picking up drift wood for their aquarium. They never say what type of wood it is but its in areas where it could easily be from a pine tree or other conifer. Based on some of the comments they make during collecting it sounds like many of the posts and videos I have seen the collector didnt know what type of wood it was other than drift wood. So I always wondered about that and if it was safe to pick any drift wood that was well seasoned but not rotten.

 

[neutrino]

Not to turn this into a woodworking thread, but I also find hardness on the hardness scale doesn't always equate to how easy something is to carve or sand. I find similar woods on the hardness scale 'feel' different when carving them... I know it's a bit of a non-sequitur, but I had to say it.