# Wood from local Park



## Willard (6 Jan 2013)

Hello all

I have found a great piece of branch/root from the local wood and could do with a few pointers.

Its as dead as the dodo and I've cut it down to size & its dry to the core. The main branch has been hollowed out on one side by weather/bugs/rot & it was a bit flakey inside with a few woodlice but I've given it a hose & good scrub with a wire brush. The hollowed out side looks amazing & the bark on the other side it solid, smooth & intact.

But....I have no idea what tree it came from other than its not pine. So what do I do with it now? Should I soak it or seal it with pond sealant? My initial thought was sealant.

Any advice would be really appreciated as it would look great in the tank.

cheers

Willard


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## Alastair (6 Jan 2013)

I'd soak it for a few weeks but maybe stick a pic up to see if anyone could possibly ID the wood, generally all hardwoods are ok for aquariums 


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## Palm Tree (6 Jan 2013)

Just soak it for a bit if you can, I us.e all sorts of wood from rivers and the sea shore and hav never had any problems. I have never tried root though.


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## Willard (6 Jan 2013)

The bark is really smooth - I will try to get a picture. The only place I can soak it is in the bath tub....just suggested this to the missus & got a look that says 'no no no'. That said, shes just gone to bed...


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## Willard (7 Jan 2013)

not a good idea putting it in the bath tub - water turned a nasty green/brown rapidly - tannins I assume - made a right mess. Thank goodness the missus is in bed.


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## Garuf (7 Jan 2013)

Is the tank running? I'd just soak it in the tank and then seal the tank till you're ready to scape, I've done this in the past, works a treat as long as you don't keep the tank open for too long.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (7 Jan 2013)

If bark is really smooth, what color is it? Possibly beech or a silver birch?


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## foxfish (7 Jan 2013)

Garuf said:


> Is the tank running? I'd just soak it in the tank and then seal the tank till you're ready to scape, I've done this in the past, works a treat as long as you don't keep the tank open for too long.


I don't understand what you mean by seal the tank? Why would you want to seal the tank......


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## dw1305 (7 Jan 2013)

Hi all,


> water turned a nasty green/brown rapidly - tannins I assume


Could be, but I'd put it into soak for a while, you may then find that there is quite a lot more soft dead wood to scrape away.

cheers Darrel


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## Garuf (7 Jan 2013)

Seal the tank to prevent the wood drying out when you're scaping before the tank is filled.


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## Willard (7 Jan 2013)

Thanks for the replies everyone, I have the wood soaking in a tub outback now. Im going to leave it there until the weekend when my plants are due for delivery.
Its all last minute as I had planned to have a large boulder for the last 6 months until I saw the wood yesterday. As I wont be adding fish for another 6 weeks so Im going to get it set up this weekend & trust the carbon pad in my filter to remove any tannins. Would this be ok?
Sealing is well and truely out the window though, didnt realise how hard it is to get wood to sink & sealant will only aid the boyancy.
As for colour - its a orangey/brown with silver. When I get home I'll post a picture.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (7 Jan 2013)

Is it similar to this?

Red Birch:


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## Willard (7 Jan 2013)

Hi Whitey
No nothing like that. I've had a look online & reckon it could be beech or probably sycamore. Would any of these woods be a problem?


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (7 Jan 2013)

Hmm yeah, I'd say beech looking at it, mind, Im more used to the 'Barkless' look, being a joiner


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## Willard (7 Jan 2013)

Thanks Whitey  I appreciate your help (any everyone elses by the way)
I've not got much clue - I just saw nice piece of wood - passed the missus the dog & scrambled up a hill to get it. Cut it down to fit the tank, its 90 cm long and even the missus seemed impressed when I tried it in the tank. Then I started to think about all this...

Its soaking now and I'll leave it until the weekend when I plan to set up & plant my 1st ever tank (Ive been planning this for about a year...). If I give it another scrub like Darrell suggested & stick it in & trust the carbon pads to remove anything that comes out will I be ok?


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## Alastair (7 Jan 2013)

Lovely piece of wood 


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## Willard (7 Jan 2013)

Thanks Alastair.
I expect theres all sorts of great stuff just lying about in our woodland...I was lucky enough to stumble across it.


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## foxfish (8 Jan 2013)

I think that wood looks as good as it gets, a very lucky find!


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## dw1305 (8 Jan 2013)

Hi all,
Looks great, a really good find. I think that it has probably already lost its bark and the smooth finish is actually the sap-wood. Because of the curly branches I think it may have had Honeysuckle (_Lonicera periclymenum_) growing on it when alive. Aniother possibility is that the wood may be Ivy (_Hedera helix_), which is fine to use when long dead.

cheers Darrel


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## Willard (9 Jan 2013)

Thanks for all the replies. I will be sure to give it another scrub before it goes into the tank.


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