Re: [APD] Online driftwood sellers

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

I have found a lot of variety in the effectiveness of
boiling driftwood. Some driftwood doesn't need it all and
it won't stain the water a bit.

Some are fine after abut 15 minutes. Some still stain
noticably after more than an hour. It depends a lot on the
kind of wood, how much time it spent in water, and what
that water was like.

I've never had a piece, boiled or not, that didn't stop
staining the water eventually.

Btw, aquariumdriftwood.com driftwood won't discolor the
water and plecos love to gnaw on it. It's a great wood for
those fish that need some wood chewing in their diets. The
flip side of that is the wood is softer than some others
you can get and will have a shorter life (measure in years
though) in your aquarium. It also comes with a few swamp
critters -- a barnacle or two. :-)


--- "Scott R.H." <irons_21 at yahoo_com> wrote:
> I have not purchased driftwood myself.  The idea of
> spending $50+ (a decent peice) on a piece of old dry
> wood is a bit beyond me. 

Funny. I often get the distinct feeling that my wife and
others around me can't figure out why I'd pay so much money
for a fish, or a plant, or a lamp that only serves fish and
plants "Why do they need so much light? Are they going to
read?" They understand the basic point of it all. But in
practice, much of the hobby, unlike sarcasm, is beyond
them.


Nikolai, from the Dallas Ft Worth Aquatic Plant Club
pointed out to me once, many peole look at an aquarium and
they don't see any point to it. But if you can get them to
watch it for a while, most of them catch on. They won't all
become hobbyists, but they understand it.

> I try to collect drift or
> bog wood myself.  I soak it for about a month then
> scrub/boil it.  For boiling, generaly about half hour
> minimum.  It stains the water sometime for a week,
> depending on the wood type.  Though I haven't had any
> trouble others have mentioned this may be more risky
> than getting buying it.
> 
I have found a lot of variety in the effectiveness of
boiling driftwood. Some driftwood doesn't need it all and
it won't stain the water a bit.

Some are fine after abut 15 minutes. Some still stain
noticably after more than an hour. It depends a lot on the
kind of wood, how much time it spent in water, and what
that water was like.

Some pieces are just too big to boil, even by turning.

However, I've never had a piece, boiled or not, that didn't
stop staining the water eventually.

Btw, aquariumdriftwood.com driftwood won't discolor the
water and plecos love to gnaw on it. It's a great wood for
those fish that need some wood chewing in their diets. The
flip side of that is the wood is softer than some others
you can get and will have a shorter life (measure in years
though) in your aquarium. It also comes with a few swamp
critters -- a barnacle or two. :-)

good luck, good fun,
Scott H.

=====
-  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
She Wrote the book on low maintenance aquatic gardening!
Diana Walstad, author of _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_
Meet her at  - The Fifth AGA Annual Convention
Details & Registration at www.aquatic-gardeners.org & www.gwapa.org


	
		
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