# non-bought wood



## Dominic (18 Nov 2013)

Didnt know where else to put it so i'll put it here..

I was just wondering, have any of you ever aquascaped using wood and rocks that you have found out and about and not from shops etc? If you do it would be awesome if i could see the pictures  

Thanks


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## darren636 (18 Nov 2013)

I use oak, beech and cherry wood. From  'clean' areas  quick soak and scrub and plop into tank.


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## kirk (18 Nov 2013)

Loads have. Just don't put Cotswold stone in or paving slabs


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (18 Nov 2013)

Some People, such as Bigtom use Heather, which looks great. It's a good idea.


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## Dominic (19 Nov 2013)

I had a quick look, they look awesome! i'll have to look for heather trees haha 

Do any of you know if camellia wood is  okay for me to use in my tank? Anything that i need to look out for? 

Heres a link.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uN-1m3V1uM0/UQm_CLGbChI/AAAAAAAAA_k/qcxH2I2lH8Q/s1600/Chessie+Pearce's+camellia+tree+photographed+by+Edward+L+Pearce.jpg


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## dw1305 (20 Nov 2013)

Hi all,





Dominic said:


> Do any of you know if camellia wood is okay for me to use in my tank?


_Camellia_ leaves are OK, so I should think dead wood would be all right. "Tea" is a _Camellia_ species, so it shouldn't be toxic. You need to keep away from _Rhododendron. _

cheers Darrel


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## Dominic (20 Nov 2013)

Okay thank you, do you know whether it releases many tannins? 

Thanks


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (20 Nov 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,_Camellia_ leaves are OK, so I should think dead wood would be all right. "Tea" is a _Camellia_ species, so it shouldn't be toxic. You need to keep away from _Rhododendron. _
> 
> cheers Darrel



Hello Darrel,

What about Magnolia stellata leaves? I've hundreds In the garden going to waste. They look a bit like the catappa leaf when brown, which made me think.


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## dw1305 (21 Nov 2013)

Hi all, 





Dominic said:


> do you know whether it releases many tannins?


 The leaves do, so I would expect you would get some. With wood most of the tannin is usually in the bark, which is why Oak is used for tanning (thick bark - lots of tannins). 





Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> What about Magnolia stellata leaves? I've hundreds In the garden going to waste. They look a bit like the catappa leaf when brown, which made me think.


 We've had a thread on these on apistogramma forums, and the answer for deciduous magnolias (like _M. stellata_) was that the leaves skeletonize fairly quickly, but work well <How to mimic deep leaf litter? | Page 2 | Apistogramma.com>. Have a look at Colin Dunlop's article <  All the leaves are brown… — Seriously Fish>, best one about leaves I've seen.

cheers Darrel


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (21 Nov 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,  The leaves do, so I would expect you would get some. With wood most of the tannin is usually in the bark, which is why Oak is used for tanning (thick bark - lots of tannins).  We've had a thread on these on apistogramma forums, and the answer for deciduous magnolias (like _M. stellata_) was that the leaves skeletonize fairly quickly, but work well <How to mimic deep leaf litter? | Page 2 | Apistogramma.com>. Have a look at Colin Dunlop's article <  All the leaves are brown… — Seriously Fish>, best one about leaves I've seen.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Excellent, thanks Darrel. Will have a read.

Cheers,


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## Yo-han (21 Nov 2013)

I used Salix, with bad result. It wasn't totally dead to begin with... And left the bark on it which was covered in BBA in no time. I used several types of stone. One with lots of lime in it, with bad results and another one I tested before and no problems.


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