[Scott_R]

I'm building a paludarium and was having trouble getting wood. For some reason it was sold out of many places, and what I did find was crazy expensive--$15-$20 for small pieces, going to $40-$60 for medium-ish. More to the point, the sizes/shapes were a compromise for what I had in mind. So I'd have to spend >$100 for pieces that I wasn't terribly crazy about anyway.
I did get one reasonable piece from a local store, but I also harvested some fallen branches from a local preserve. I stripped all the bark with a wire wheel on a bench grinder, and removed the rest (down to very clean looking wood) with an oscillating tool.
I then boiled them for an hour and a half; the pieces were too big to entirely fit in the old pot I had (didn't want to use my good ones) so I flipped them around halfway through. I'm planning on boiling them a second time, to be safe and to remove tannins, etc. I didn't want to use bleach in case there was residue.
Am I good with this, or do I go back to searching for commercial wood?

 

[JasonE]

The problem with typical wood you can source outside is that they break down very quickly compared to vivarium/aquarium specific woods. I had a friend who sourced an awesome "stump" to build a pumilio tank around and after 3 years he had to break it down and redo it. I have a store that's about two hours away that sells ghostwood on eBay. They usually have a good selection. Either Pet World or Pet World of Lawrence is how they're listed.

 

[Harpspiel]

It really depends on species of wood and what you’re planning on keeping in the paludarium.

Juniperus species are very long-lived in and out of water, and I have some I gathered on my property over ten years ago that is still intact in my paludarium, but it has a lot of toxic compounds and I wouldn’t recommend it for a build with frogs or fish. My first batch of cherry shrimp died out entirely, maybe due to leaching from the juniper, but since then I’ve established a thriving shrimp colony in the water with it. The species in my paludarium is Juniperus virginiana, but I have more recently used Juniperus monosperma (probably) in terrariums with isopods. It would be great in a plant-only tank.

I bought manzanita online for a recent aquarium, it wasn’t too expensive and doesn’t have the toxicity issues.

 

[andrewjohn007]

Check out this online shop. I picked up ghost wood when they had bogo1/2off and free shipping. A steal of a deal.

Pet World Lawrence Online

Pet World Lawrence Online is our online location for your pet needs! We are growing our listings constantly, as well as support special requests for anything you current get and would like us to supply for you. Receive one of a kind pieces of wood and stone.

petworldlawrenceonline.com

(edit - someone beat me to it!)

 

[solidsnake]

^^ I’ve ordered from here before too. They really do have a good selection.

I prefer to find pieces in person, but this is the next best thing.

 

[TrumantheOwl]

Lucky enough to live within an hour of that store. Its honestly great. I like to drive out there just to poke around and get a bite in the town.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk