[R.sok]

I work at a collision center and outside near the railroad tracks are pieces of wood that are pretty nice. Think these would be safe to use with a boil? They're all dry

Bump: And I do currently have mopani in my tank. I just feel like I could do better but the pieces my lfs sell aren't that great or are to big for my 2.5 gallon

 

[lksdrinker]

So long as they are the type of wood typically used in aquariums you should be fine. You dont want bark and ideally you want hard woods. Not necessarily "driftwood" if its not near a body of water though. Even the store bought stuff began life outdoors as a natural tree at some point so I wouldn't be concerned about the "outside" aspect. I'd be more concerned about environmental contaminants possibly affecting it though. How far from the shop are these tracks? does the bondo dust make it that way often? Any other "stuff" from your shop or anywhere else nearby that you could see covering the wood?

 

[R.sok]

It's in our main parking lot "100+ car lot" no dust reaches that area. Our filters have 98% efficiency & no public access to that part other than people that work here

 

[gbb0330]

like lksdrinker said, wood next to railroad tracks and a parking lot just does not sound very clean to me, why don't you go out into the woods, away from cars and trains and try to find some wood that is less likely to be contaminated. keep in mind fish are pretty sensitive animals, things like tap water can kill them.