Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a cool looking tree trunk that I am putting in my new 110 gallon setup (30x28x30). It is fresh out of the ground and still has lots of Root-hairs on it... looks awesome. What all do I need to do to it to make sure it is suitable for my tank. It will mostly be under water. Also, it was in a friends backyard so I am sure that some pesticides were used back there at some point, or at least will assume so. Thanks.
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Thanks and Gig Em,
Cliff
0.2.1 Sipiwlini Tinc's

I don't know what kind of pesticides or fertilizers were used in your friends backyard, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I would rinse or soak the trunk once or twice and scrub it down either way. The frogs won't be eating any of the bark and most pesticides leave the tree within 2-3 years.
I would definately cut off the root hairs and all of the fine roots, they will decompose quickly and make a mess, especially in water. Also depending on the species of tree, it may rot pretty quickly in a warm and humid environment. Hope this helps.

Ben Zomer
Arborist

The Trunk is from a Willow Tree. Any idea of it is a bad type to put in there? It will actually not be used in my Dart tank. I am setting up a Paludarium for Archer Fish. It is part of a 3 Tank system that will consists of a Dart Tank, Arowana/Sting Ray Tank, and Paludarium/Archer Fish tank. All the tanks will have be totally seperate units, but be right next to eachother. I just post on this forum for all my Vivarium/Paludarium questions since most people here have experience with them.

With this said, the fish will be swimming in the water where the trunk will mostly be, so Pesticides would be a pretty bad problem if not treated properly. It is still a few months before I get everything setup so I will probably just clean it excessfully until then.

Thanks for the advice on the Root Hairs. All though they look cool, if they were to decompose too quickly that would result in problems that are more important than "looking cool".
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Thanks and Gig Em,
Cliff
0.2.1 Sipiwlini Tinc's

Willow is a very soft wooded species and very porous. It will also decay fairly quickly. How quickly??, that depends on many conditions.
Since rotting is really the action of fungi digesting the wood, the best way to control it is to limit the desirable conditions of the fungi. Most wood decaying Fungi, like other organisms need food, oxygen, and water. You are supplying the food (wood) and putting it in oxygenated water. If you were to use it in a terrarium condition that didn't circulate the water, the oxygen levels in the water are very low and keep the decomposition process very slow. (they have recovered trees and even pollen from the depths of bogs that are hundreds and even thousands of years old because they have not decomposed.)
All this said, it takes a long time for wood to decay and even though willow will do so faster than most, you may be able to keep yours for a long time before you have to replace it. Also since you are going to submerge the willow and are concened about chemicals, I would soak the wood a few times.
I hope this wasn't too long winded and that it helps.

-Ben

>>Willow is a very soft wooded species and very porous. It will also decay fairly quickly. How quickly??, that depends on many conditions.
>> Since rotting is really the action of fungi digesting the wood, the best way to control it is to limit the desirable conditions of the fungi. Most wood decaying Fungi, like other organisms need food, oxygen, and water. You are supplying the food (wood) and putting it in oxygenated water. If you were to use it in a terrarium condition that didn't circulate the water, the oxygen levels in the water are very low and keep the decomposition process very slow. (they have recovered trees and even pollen from the depths of bogs that are hundreds and even thousands of years old because they have not decomposed.)
>> All this said, it takes a long time for wood to decay and even though willow will do so faster than most, you may be able to keep yours for a long time before you have to replace it. Also since you are going to submerge the willow and are concened about chemicals, I would soak the wood a few times.
>> I hope this wasn't too long winded and that it helps.
>>
>>-Ben
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Thanks and Gig Em,
Cliff
0.2.1 Sipiwlini Tinc's