Diffting wood?

[fishface]

hello i got some diffwood a couple of days ago and asked the man how long i should soak it he said if it sinks stright away it should be fine well it did sink after about 30 secs but because my brother put his in to quick ( it turned his water green and hasnt bin able 2 fix it) i wanted to make sure sure so i soaked it in cold water changing it now and again 4 about two days and put it in boiling water about 4 hours ago do u think it wiil be ok to put in my tank or should i soak it for longer? its about 7 inches long.thanks.*celebrate

 

[ArkyLady]

It should be fine, but may still turn your water brownish color. Put it in fresh water in your bucket you've been soaking it in and leave it overnight, see if the water is all brown tomorrow. If so, you may want to soak it some more (though some people want that effect on their water).

 

[Luca]

So you bought it from a LFS/driftwood shop? If it's from the sea or elsewhere i can post what you need to do (it's called "curing" and takes 2-3 weeks)

here to help,
Luca.

 

[geKo]

The brown tint that leaks from driftwood may never go away. I once had a piece i finnaly just thru away because it wouldnt come clean.

I tried soaking, bleaching, and boiling water and still it woudnt come clean. After 3 months if it wont come clean toss it!

 

[Vinh]

The boiling and soaking wont work.. ive just did it... instead of taking 3 hours to fully tan my water, it takes over night. (maybe it might work if you soak it over 6 months...)

Its not worth doing unless your killing bugs, you just gotta live with the tan and it gives your tank a natural look.

 

[fishface]

i dont think i can wait 6 months! its from a LFS yes its was in a section on a shelf with lots of others not the sea or anything like that. im gonna soak it is freash water tonight and if its not to brown im gonna put it in and see how it goes. if it does tan then ill live with it it might look good. if it does tan and i cant live with it when i take it out how long would it take 2 go back to the waters ogrinal colour?

 

[Vinh]

I was a bit pissy when I first put in the wood without soaking it thinking the lfs would have already done all that stuff... then i took it out and took me 4x 25%(3 one night and one next morning) water cahnges...

but i soak the wood to kill any bugs or critters and hope to get tan off.... anyways put the wood back in.. instead of tanning 3 hours later, it tanned water over night.

Its not too bad really.. but i would proberly prefer clear water.

But double crossing my finger my driftwood tanning wont be as orange and hope it gets a bit lighter over 3months.

 

[fishface]

so the tanning can fade in time? i dont think i would mind if there was a little tanning it depends how much and the colour. how many colours r there i heard brown and orange but my brothers whent green!

 

[Luca]

I don't think green is a good sign, that implies either rotted wood or alive wood, leaving it out in the sun for a few weeks will ensure the wood is dead then put it back in the tank.

The tannins are most commonly brownish.

 

[fishface]

thanks ill tell him that. iv put it in now and it doesnt look like theres any tannin yet but it might take a while its been in over night.