Mermaid wrote:
Pardon my ignorance. What is the difference between driftwood and bogwood?
Or is it the same thing? And if it is different, where can you collect or
purchase it? In years past have collected driftwood around the river near my
home. But now I am more concerned about contaminants and polution, in
addition to natural pests and parasites you have to get rid of. Is bleach
enough to rid of all the nasties?

Just a newbie,
Paulette


Bogwood is usually tropical root wood like Mopani or mangrove that is
collected from underwater. It doesn't rot or rots only very slowly and
sinks fairly easily. Driftwood is collected from rivers and beaches and
usually floats until waterlogged (this can take many weeks). It can be
any sort of wood. It's softer and tends to rot and fungus more readily
than bogwood but comes in lots of interesting shapes and sizes and is
free if you live by the water.

Driftwood from the ocean won't harbor FW parasites since salt kills
them. To handle driftwood from FW, boil it if you can. You can boil
one half of the wood, flip it over, and boil the other half if your pot
isn't big enough for the whole piece. Bleaching is not safe becuase
it's VERY hard to rinse bleach back out of wood. If the wood is too
large to boil, you can treat with potassium permanganate since it's less
toxic and small amounts of residue won't harm your tank.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com