[dmould66]

hi

im in the process of setting up a 200 ltr tank and have been buying drift wood for it, didnt give it a thought till last night, but all the wood ive bought is foreign, mopani/golden vine and heres my problem-here in australia customs fumigate all wood that is imported pretty much, the woods porous so hard to clean-should i be worried about the chemicals they use? has anyoneany experience with this?

ps

hi to all and what a fantastic site

 

[DaveK]

I can't speak for what exactly they do in Australia. I do use mopani driftwood in my tank, and can tell you that it's extremely dense. It doesn't float in water. My pieces are large and required several months of soaking in water, using hot water, or salt in the water, or bleach in the water, changing the water every few days. This was to get the tannins out. I'd think that after all that, any residue from fumigation would be removed.

Smaller pieces don't take as long to process, but I suspect you'll still need at least several soakings of the wood. I doubt you'd have a problem after all that.

 

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Time for an online search or perhaps a phone call to find out what they use to fumigate. Most of the fruit coming in from over seas is also fumigated, by the way. The usual fumigants will break down very quickly after exposure to air.