# Twigs from the yard?



## rpadgett37 (Jan 1, 2014)

I have an idea for creating what would look like ivy creeping up the back of my aquarium. Twigs from my yard would be perfect for this.

Can I use twigs from the yard? If yes, is prep any different than for driftwood?


----------



## Lights106 (May 16, 2013)

Loooove that idea, but not sure.


----------



## 0ut0fsight4443 (Feb 5, 2014)

I am not sure either, your going to have to research the type of wood to make sure that is it okay, but I would believe treating it like driftwood would work. Just not sure enough to back up the idea, just incase it takes the wrong turn for your fish.

I have been wanting for summer to come so that my Father can go around Lake Michigan for me and find a nice piece of driftwood. But I would still have to soak it and test the water for any foreign chemicals and parasites before I would throw the driftwood into my tank. 

Better safe then dead fish.


----------



## Joey Fish (Jan 26, 2014)

I agree I have wanted to use sticks and roots from my plants for driftwood, I would like to see what people know about it


----------



## kittenfish (Dec 1, 2013)

You want dead, hard wood, nothing from an evergreen tree or plants that have been sprayed with pesticides. Freshly fallen wood could have saps or other things that can leech into your water. Ideally you want something that's been dead for years. If you find something that seems safe, you need to wash and boil it for several hours to kill anything that might be living in it and to remove some of the tannins. I would also remove any bark.

If you don't want to risk it, look into manzanita wood, it's pretty twiglike and aquarium-safe.


----------



## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

0ut0fsight4443 said:


> I have been wanting for summer to come so that my Father can go around Lake Michigan for me and find a nice piece of driftwood. But I would still have to soak it and test the water for any foreign chemicals and parasites before I would throw the driftwood into my tank.


I have one small piece of Lake Michigan driftwood in a tank and I love it! It sure took a long time to sink, though. I boiled it for several days, then let it soak in a pail for about 2 months (!) and it still floated for at least a month in my tank before it finally... finally... sank!! It was worth it though, washed smooth and safe and clean from the Lake. I also love the beautiful smooth stones that we pick up on the beaches there.

Like you I want warmer weather to come so I can go get more ~ but I figure at the rate we're going it will be July before all the snow is gone!!!


----------



## rpadgett37 (Jan 1, 2014)

I appreciate all of the advice.

It occurred to me that any kind of wood directly from the yard would be a bad choice if for no other reason than the sap in the wood won't go away by any treatment I can think of.

I'll be looking into Manzita wood. Thanks for the suggestion.

As an aside, I looked on YouTube at videos regarding Driftwood. There is information there, but none I found particularly helpful. Tended towards just showing off what they found but nothing beyond that other than to say "isn't this cool?" I get far better information here.


----------



## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

rpadgett37 ~ you can also look into cholla wood. RusselltheShihTzu on this forum has been selling some at very reasonable costs. She had pieces in all sizes.

Here is the link:http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=321018

Not sure if she still has any, but you could try to pm her. I've bought some and it is very very nice - pretty colors and actually sinks fairly quickly ( way more so then my Lake M. driftwood.!)


----------



## rpadgett37 (Jan 1, 2014)

Thanks for the link 2Muttz. I've contacted her to see what she has left. The pieces look awesome.


----------



## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

rpadgett37 said:


> Thanks for the link 2Muttz. I've contacted her to see what she has left. The pieces look awesome.


You're very welcome! I found them to be even nicer in real life than the photos show. Good luck.


----------

