Citrus in a fish tank?

[Davy]

I was just mowing the lawn when I look up and saw some awesome branches that I thought would look good in my tank. Would they be okay to put in my tank if I treated them properly? They are the branches not roots of either a grapefruit or orange tree. Which ever tree has some that I like. Thanks.

 

[420Loach]

i dont see why not, but im not sure how you would clean and treat something like that. please let me know how it works out

 

[Davy]

What about scrubbing it and then soaking it in bleach water? When I get my tank to look the way I want it I'll post pics.

 

[AndyL]

You can't put green wood in a fishtank... The reason we can use driftwood is because it's drifted. Wood needs time soaking in a large body of water to leech its toxins, and to debark.

In other words stick to real driftwood...

Andy

 

[Lotus]

Most people suggest you boil the branches, then soak them for a while. That means you get rid of the microorganisms, but don't risk putting bleach in your aquarium.

As it's a citrus, you might want to soak it for a week or more, to leach out any oils in the wood.

Someone may tell you not to because of the oils, and they may be right. I am not 100% sure on this one.

 

[AndyL]

Originally posted by Lotus
Most people suggest you boil the branches, then soak them for a while. That means you get rid of the microorganisms, but don't risk putting bleach in your aquarium.

As it's a citrus, you might want to soak it for a week or more, to leach out any oils in the wood.

Someone may tell you not to because of the oils, and they may be right. I am not 100% sure on this one.

Bad advice...

Bleach is good - kills everything - and doesn't stain like many of the other options (Potasium permanganate comes to mind) Bleach can also be cheaply and easily removed by using extra dechlorinator (bleach is Chlorine).

Soaking a piece of green wood for a week will not be enough time for the wood to leech out to the point of becoming tank safe. My wood QT/Prep averages 3-4 weeks per piece. With daily w/c's in the prep tank (I also use carbon filtration to eliminate chemicals after the bleaching period) And I use DRIFTWOOD, green wood takes a good few months to dry out just so as not to be 'green'.

Andy

 

[Lotus]

Thanks for putting me straight, AndyL.

 

[colesea]

Green wood also has a tendacy to rot in a tank. You can dry out green wood by letting it sit in the sun for a very long time, provided that you live in a relatively low humidity climate. Another way to dry wood is by putting it in the oven, but I don't know the bake time or temperatures that would not create combustion.
~~colesea

 

[Davy]

So it sounds like I would have to bake it or let it dry. Then soak it for a couple weeks with bleach then a week or so without bleach. Something like that. I guess it's not such a good idea after all. Good thing I checked back cause I was about to start tree hackin'.