Safe driftwood?

[Adastra1018]

I hope this is in the right place, wasn't sure where to put it. Anyway, Im in the market for driftwood for my aquarium and found a huge and stunning piece that I wouldn't be able to use for a while but want to snatch it for the future. Problem is, I just learned that walnut isn't safe for an aquarium. So what about the crabitat? They love to eat walnuts but are all parts of the tree safe? From the picture it looks to be very well dried and weathered so I'm not super worried but I wanted to get some opinions.

[LadyJinglyJones]

So if I'm not mistaken (and I sometimes am) walnut isn't aquarium good because walnut trees secrete a chemical called juglones (man, autocorrect did not like that word ), which negatively affect other plants, and can seep into aquarium water. I don't think that those issues arise in a terrestrial setting. Walnut isn't on the HCA unsafe food/plants list. I lean towards saying it's fine - but if you are uncomfortable using it, don't. No one wants to lose sleep over whether the decor in their tank is dangerous!

Edit: and juglones mostly occur in the roots an leaves...forgot to mention that.

[Adastra1018]

Thanks for the reply! I did read that it was mostly plants that would be affected. However I was thinking, my aunt used to have a black walnut tree and they stained everything they fell on. If I have a chunk of wood in a humid tank maybe my sand will turn black? I do have live plants in the aquarium so even if I took years to cure fully its not worth the risk. My pipe dream for the crabs is to have a huuuuge natural exhibit, I'm talking at least 8 by 4 feet and almost up to the ceiling with a forest end and a beach end with live plants. So even in an exhibit that big with plenty of room it may not be worth the potential headache.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Hm, I really don't know if the wood of walnut leeches colour. I had the impression it's just the young nuts that stain but, as I've never worked with walnut, I'm not sure. :dunno:

Your dream sounds amazing!