Treatment for Grape Vine Wood?

backafter20 · #1 01-09-2011, 12:54 AM

Hi all. I've been reading here for awhile, but this is my first post. I'm still in the design phase of a 55g terrarium, and trying to soak up all your experience. I really like the tropical rain-forest look of vines, twisted wood, and bromeliads. I have yet to actually put anything together, but saw a really incredible grape vine branch at a local pet store today for $40. I would have to cut it, as it wouldn't even fit into a 55! There would be plenty left over for another, smaller terrarium later on. My concern is the often-discussed issue of mold on grape vines. I have read that air circulation helps, but not everyone agrees that is the cure. The piece I am looking at could never fit into an oven for baking, and other than the bathtub, I'm not sure how I would soak it. The pet store owner said that if I soak it first (didn't mention any baking) it would never mold. That doesn't make sense to me. I was wondering if there might be a treatment I could use on the wood to make it unpalatable to mold? Maybe paint it with vinegar? How about linseed oil? A matte polyurethane? I will probably not be adding any critters to the tank, but if I do it would just be a few anoles. I'm really more into the plants and the creation of the environment than the keeping of herps. (been there, done that) I'm new to terrariums, though. If the mold is just inevitable on grape vine, maybe I'll keep thinking about that design. Your comments are appreciated.

Jim

Ellylove · #2 01-09-2011, 04:34 AM

Vinegar was what I was thinking when I read this. A good bath in white vinegar and a soak in HOT water should help and it shouldn't harm anything.

I've had one piece in my tank for almost a year that got the typical black fuzz which turned into white fuzz and now just looks normal. It might take a few months, but if you don't mind fuzzy branches for a while, it wouldn't hurt anything to just leave it. (I'd do the vinegar route myself).

Grimm · #3 01-09-2011, 12:06 PM

I boiled my grapevine pieces twice, and they still molded like crazy. They molded so mich it actually spread into the clay background. I didnt want to wait a year for them to stop, so I exchanged it with malasian driftwood and havent had any problems.

Ma77hew7 · #4 01-16-2011, 05:23 AM

Jim,
I would look into long term updates from postings regarding grape wood in wet habitat vivariums... I know lots of people claim it has a bad rap. Imho for good reason,

, at best it will shorten the lifespan of your viv. I don't get why everyone loves grape wood anyway? It's not even hard to find Swahala,(which I love by the way)! Malaysian drift wood is even better, and ghost wood even better! If price is the issue, find an old freshwater aquarium setup that has taken a dump, and get a free/cheap waterlogged piece of wood. Then you won't mind cut and chop session... Lot of info out there on how to treat wood, do some searching.

I'm into seeing the 55 be sure to post her!

Ellylove · #5 01-16-2011, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ma77hew7

Jim,
I would look into long term updates from postings regarding grape wood in wet habitat vivariums... I know lots of people claim it has a bad rap. Imho for good reason,

, at best it will shorten the lifespan of your viv. I don't get why everyone loves grape wood anyway? It's not even hard to find Swahala,(which I love by the way)! Malaysian drift wood is even better, and ghost wood even better! If price is the issue, find an old freshwater aquarium setup that has taken a dump, and get a free/cheap waterlogged piece of wood. Then you won't mind cut and chop session... Lot of info out there on how to treat wood, do some searching.

I'm into seeing the 55 be sure to post her!

Why do you think it shortens the lifespan? After it goes through it's moldy phase, it looks like a normal piece of damp wood....

backafter20 · #6 01-16-2011, 06:21 PM

Thanks for your comments. I haven't started the build yet. Still researching and considering making fake wood (inspired by that guy at lizard landscapes). The only reason I was looking at grapevine is that this is all I see anywhere local. Maybe I just don't know where to look? We have PetSmart and PetCo all over around here (Denver), but I'm not sure where else to look for other wood types. I do see very small pieces of other woods, but I'm looking for larger pieces, and I'd prefer to buy them in person to imagine placement and angles and such, so not keen on mail-order. Can I assume the primary reason for not treating the wood is that it is unhealthy for animals? At this point, I'm not planning on any animals, but it'd be nice not to limit myself later. I'm still debating background material, and whether to go with an eggcrate bottom or those expanded clay ball things. Great site here!

Ellylove · #7 01-16-2011, 10:06 PM

A lot of people do eggcrate and then LECA (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) on top of that, separated by fiberglass screen material. I have that on my current tank, but I have found that there isn't enough water build up to make the egg crate layer. I'm skipping the egg crate and just using LECA with a tube going into it so I can siphon off excess water. Unless you're adding a water feature, I'd skip the egg crate.

imamerican95 · #8 02-15-2011, 06:34 PM

ive had alot of experience with grapewood. if part of the grapewood is completely submerged in water all the time, the whole peice will mold like crazy. what i did is i boiled my grapewood, but i dont know how u cood do that if its a really big peice. if ur wood is not in contact with water at all, it shood do fine. the "logic" behind boiling ur wood first is: as the wood is in contact with water, the water will begin to water log the wood. as the wood is being water logged, it will begin to mold. after the water has reached the very middle of ur wood, the water will start receiding out of it and it will EVENTUALLY stop molding. so the thing is, if u boil it first, its supposed already water log it and sort of stop the molding process.

backafter20 · #9 02-15-2011, 08:02 PM

Thanks for the replies, but I read so much about the mold that I went another route. Using the methods discussed on Lizard_Landscapes.com, I started building my own "wood" out of styrofoam. I'm almost done with the foam carving and ready to coat it with grout/modeling plaster/whatever. So far, I'm really excited about how it's turning out. If the grout goes well, it could be pretty cool. It's easy and cheap, but it takes time, and I cannot overstate the mess that carving styrofoam creates! I'll eventually do a build log, but wanted to get a bit further along before I started posting pictures.

Ellylove · #10 02-15-2011, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by backafter20

Thanks for the replies, but I read so much about the mold that I went another route. Using the methods discussed on Lizard_Landscapes.com, I started building my own "wood" out of styrofoam. I'm almost done with the foam carving and ready to coat it with grout/modeling plaster/whatever. So far, I'm really excited about how it's turning out. If the grout goes well, it could be pretty cool. It's easy and cheap, but it takes time, and I cannot overstate the mess that carving styrofoam creates! I'll eventually do a build log, but wanted to get a bit further along before I started posting pictures.

Looking forward to pics!!!!