Are Petrified Wood Rocks safe to use in Aquarium

Phoenixjoni

Phoenixjoni

AC Members
Mar 19, 2018
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Bailey, CO
I have found some pieces of petrified wood that I would like to use in my aquarium. I have cleaned them and soaked them in boiling water for a few days. My question is now that the rocks are wet, they smell a bit. It's kind of an aromatic kind of smell. It's a bit wierd for something that's a rock. Are they safe to use? How can you be sure?
 
Most will be fine. There are some that have crystalline formations that *might* breakdown. Best bet--soak them in water for a week, test the water. If you don't see anything alarming, add them to the tank and monitor fish. Be prepared to remove the rock and do water changes/run carbon if you see problems.

I've used petrified wood in tanks with no issue. There's 60~ pounds sitting downstairs right now that we picked up last visit to Colorado.
 
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OrionGirl said:
Most will be fine. There are some that have crystalline formations that *might* breakdown. Best bet--soak them in water for a week, test the water. If you don't see anything alarming, add them to the tank and monitor fish. Be prepared to remove the rock and do water changes/run carbon if you see problems.

I've used petrified wood in tanks with no issue. There's 60~ pounds sitting downstairs right now that we picked up last visit to Colorado.
Click to expand...

Have you ever experienced a weird smell to the petrified wood, after soaking them? BTW, got these pieces in rock shop in Colorado. There are veins of tiny crystals in these rocks. Will test the water it's been soaking in for a week.
 
I have seen 2 types of petrified wood; 1 brown, 1 white. I think the white is mostly limestone & may raise hardness as it gradually breaks down, it had a chalky feel. The brown seemed harder & I'm guessing would be ok.

I've noticed some wet rocks have a little earthy/mineral-y smell but I've never worried about it.
 
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Some types have more metals in the petrified wood. At least the piece I had caused problems due to the copper in it. Yours could be fine, but take note of how it looks after being wet for a few days.
 
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The piece was getting streaks of that greenish oxidized copper color. The skin issues that had developed in my chocolate gouramis healed up after I removed the petrified wood. And that issue came up within a short time of putting it in and that was the only thing that had changed about the tank.
 
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