Re: NANFA-- stick glued to a rock???

Moontanman_at_aol.com
Sat, 25 Jan 2003 16:51:54 EST

In a message dated 1/25/03 10:21:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, jlw_at_dune.net
writes:

> here's nothing wrong with using driftwood from natural sources, a lot f
> people collect it. You should boiland or bleach it to disinfect it. It
> won't be sand blasted like what you buy at the shop, but it'll proably be
> a little nicer looking anyhow. :)
>
Why boil and disinfect the wood? I think we think too much in terms of our
aquariums as germ free environments. At one time Salt water hobbyists were
obsessed with the idea of keeping everything germ free. boiled and bleached
was the buzz word of the day but real success didn't come until they were
willing to put live rock and live sand into the aquarium, hardly a sterile
way to go. it's unlikely a germ would added to an aquarium from natural wood
that wasn't already inside the aquarium. adding fish is the most likely way
to add pathogens. Once wood is naturally cured it poses no danger to fish.
Green wood will grow fungus and bacteria if added to an aquarium and all the
boiling and bleaching in the world will not keep that from happening. The
only thing that works is to allow natural bacteria to consume the parts of
the wood that readily rot leaving the skeleton of cellulose behind. Once this
is done the wood is safe. Sometimes it takes years for this to happen, that
is why natural drift wood is the fastest way to get usable wood. but
bleaching and boiling already naturally cured wood is a waste of time and
might even be a detriment to the value of the wood as a source of useful
bacteria.

Moon
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