Hi Kiersten,
I would have to agree with Dawn regarding not adding anything alien to
your tank but I also understand fully what Patrick is saying abut having
choice because it is *your* tank. My viewpoint is to give my animals the
best possible quality of life & that can often mean taking advice from
people who know stuff I don't. I think the best way I can put it is to
quote something a dear friend & fish keeper once told me & that was wild
living aquatic animals are like street kids so they are virtually immune to
almost everything nasty in their environment. Fish raised & sold as pets in
stores or from breeders are completely different & have had a very
sheltered existence so are not hardy or able to withstand anything like
what their wild counterparts would cope with so adding wild decor can be a
death sentence. Mixing & matching will only cause problems for you & your
fish.
John.
On 2 July 2012 20:57, dawnshungryeyes4u2c <dawnshungryeyes4u2c@yahoo.com>wrote:
> **
>
>
> I do NOT suggest you put that wood into your tank. Aside from tannins
> there are fungus, bacteria, parasites, and pollution to worry about, and
> soaking it in boiling water or baking it in an oven for a few hours is not
> going to rid you of all of the things that could be contaminating that
> piece of wood and could quickly cause some major problems in your tank.
> Insects and parasites can lay eggs inside of the wood. These "bugs" can
> lie dormant for a long time until conditions are just right and then
> suddenly hatch, infesting your tank and quite possibly your fish. The same
> thing applies to fungus spores.
> Aside from those things there are a lot of different forms of pollution
> that you simply can't remove by boiling and baking.
>
> Pet supply manufacturers that sell wood have special equipment to help
> sterilize the pieces of wood they collect and they also have specific
> places they collect it from, which cuts down on the risk, however, it does
> not guarantee that any piece of wood bought from a pet supply store is safe
> from all of the above mentioned things.
>
> Whenever you put any piece of wood into your tank there is some risk
> involved. Collecting your own from a lake, stream, river, etc. only
> increases that risk by 10 fold.
>
> I have seen many people over the years wipe out their expensive and
> beloved tanks by adding a piece of drift wood they picked up outdoors.
>
> In regards to the rock you picked up... there is something I suggest you
> do besides the sterilizing and vinegar check. Get out your pH, KH, and GH
> test kits. After the rock is clean and free of the vinegar, soak that rock
> in a bucket of water taken from your aquarium and test it with each of
> those tests every couple of days for 2 wks to be sure it doesn't contain
> minerals that will alter the pH, KH, and/or GH of your water. This too can
> be quite harmful to your fish. When we pick up a rock and we clean it and
> do the vinegar test that allows us to see how safe it is on the surface,
> but we still have no idea what is contained inside. There is the
> possibility of any of a multitude of minerals and/or heavy metals that can
> be veined through that rock and can and will affect water chemistry in ways
> that can harm your fish/animals.
>
> Here again, I have seen many disastrous situations happen because someone
> skipped this step and added a rock picked up from outdoors to their tank.
> There are forms of pollution that also cannot be removed via vinegar and
> water conditioner, so please understand that in spite of all the testing,
> there is some level of risk involved, but these extra precautions lower
> that risk greatly.
>
> Dawn
>
> --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com, "Kiersten M" <ariesstarfire.blue@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Today we went floating on a river n I noticed a pile of wood n I
> couldn't help but pick through it n found the perfect piece of drift wood.
> Have NOT put it in my tank because I dug it out of a muddy river bank with
> very very still moving water. Im wanting to prepare it for my tank. Iv read
> on at least 15 links to scrub it with a brush, then boil it(although it
> wont fit in a pot that I have because its "branchy") so the next best thing
> I see is to add boiling water to a 5 gal bucket with the wood in it - wait
> to cool- rinse and repeat a few times, and then let it soak in clean water
> for a week chaining the water until I notice a decrease of tannin in the
> water. It said to soak it with a dechlorinating agent. Are there any that
> work better or are preferred over others? I'm just a bit worried I wont get
> it clean enough n I kill my tank n have to start aaaalllllll over again.
> >
> > I'm definatly a DIY kinda person, so I picked up an awesome rock to go
> with the drift wood and iv got it soaking in water with a bit of vinegar
> but its going to get at lease a week of soaking and scrubbing before it
> goes in my tank. Iv searched everywhere for "that piece" to add to it, but
> I haven't found it on line or in my pet stores. Send me to the river for 20
> minutes n I'm one happy camper. Haa.
> >
> > Thank u guys very much. As I said, I'm a total newbie here. So I'm very
> thankful for ur advice and patience with me. Lol
> > Kiersten
> >
>
>
>
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