natrual rock ornaments and driftwood

[tys91]

hey guys
i nkw have my tank running and looking at adding ornaments as i go along and some big peices of driftwood. I live in a country/farmy area where lakes and rivers are a stone throw away. Im thinking about heading down this w.e and spend a couple hours hunting for some nice rock to establish a nice ornament and same goes with driftwood. I will however fill my bsthtub up with hot boilinv water and soak all the ornaments as much as i can.

can anyone advise me of the best way to lrotect the ornaments and also im not sure if this is the right area for this. Im not posting a diy guide so i didnt feel the need to post this topic in that section





cheers
Tys

[mnemenoi]

Many avoid using 'found' objects in their tank for fear of introduction of anything that could potentially infect your tank. I myself use found stone often after boiling and cleaning. Bleach is another good option, just dose it well with Prime (for chlorine) and allow to sun dry. Wood is always tricky and only a few types seem to not want to rapidly decay in the water. It might take some experimentation to find the most suited type in your area if one exists. Look in creeks and see what type of branches/wood appears older and still holding up and look for its source, then clean well and use rocks/slate w/screws to hold it down.

[LooksLater]

There's reasonable arguments on both sides as far as found objects for tanks...in theory, they're all "found" somewhere. Some people use found wood or rocks with minimal clean up and have no problems, and some people have horror stories about introducing fungus or chemicals after using wood or rock bought at LFS.

I'm one of those people- the fungus/weird grey growth I'm fighting in my OEBT tank is possibly something that was introduced by the wood I have in there (I'll get this confirmed or not in a few days, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who can run some tests for me). I bought that wood at a high-end LFS and boiled it for nearly 24 hrs solid, trying to get it to sink. My lab friend says this is uncommon, but not unheard of- some fungi will not die for anything short of an autoclave.
And I know someone who kept having mysterious die-offs in her tank, and after ruling out everything else she could, pulled the wood from her tank, and it stopped. The only explanation is that it was leaching some kind of chemical/ pesticide or other agent that was killing the fish. She bought that at the same store, I believe. (Though I'll say, it's not their fault- how could they know? And they sell plenty of wood that is just fine. These things just happen.)

Boiling or bleaching (or both) will also only do so much good, sometimes it's just so deep in the object, it will continue to leach out despite precautions. Just keep in mind that you're making an educated guess on the collection area. Try to gather from a place you're reasonably sure isn't exposed to pesticides/chemical runoff, and sterilize it the best you can. Watch for any funny business in the tank, and pull it if you have any doubts.

Having said all that, I know plenty of people who use beautiful found stuff and it works out fine! Good luck.

[tys91]

Re: natrual rock ornaments and driftwood

thanks guys for both detailed replies. I guess its probarly not worth getting raw wood and trying to treat it as if it doesnt cure good and if my tank gets infected id see id would be a nightmare.

I will though try out some rocks from my local river/lakes. I will post pictures up after my hunting session :)

cheers
Tys