Driftwood curing

[FrankDMann]

does anyone know the proper procedures for curing driftwood that whas attained from the local stream? I'm looking to save a bunch of dough by getting my own, but I don't know how to go about it. I'm guessing that I don't want to get it from the beach because of the salt water, lol!

Thanks so much,
Frank

 

[MrKrispy]

Well, I am no expert but last time I was in Hawaii I found a few pieces (a lot actually, just took 2) of driftwood and brought them back to the states with me. I sat them in a bucket of clean water for about a week, weigted down. I changed the water and let it sit another week. Threw them in my tank, nothing died. Pleco liked to sit on it, I have read they like the cellulose.

 

[red belly pacus]

I'v saved several pieces that have came from salt water before I soaked them with clorox for awile rinsed them off let them dry in the sun for a few day never had any problems with them in the tanks. the chlorine will dissapate very rapidly in the sun also I feel the clorox would kill any grems they may have had .

 

[MrKrispy]

I didn't use bleach, I was worried that some would absorb in to the wood and then leach out later. Not scientifically backed of course! Bleach is very volatile so long enough or high enough heat exposure should take care of it.

 

[colesea]

Bleach would absorb into the wood and leach out, but there is a way around it. I love using wood from the beach because it already come leached of its natural tannis as well as completely debarked and debrided into awsome shapes. Any salt that is on the wood is usually just encrusted on the surface, so a good soaking pre-tank will get rid of it.

The procedure I used was to soak my collected driftwood in a 10 gallon plasitc garbage pail of a 10% bleach solution overnight. Then I rinsed it off and put in clean water with a libral amount of tank dechlorinator added. I soaked it like that for a week, doing daily water changes. Then I gave it a final rinse and put it right in the tank. The wood is still there, two years later, although I really need to get some more, my clown plecos have knawed it to nearly nothing.
~~Colesea

 

[SoulFish]

id do what colesea said, last thing you want is bleach leaching out of the wood after putting it in your tank killing off fish, if you have a big enough pot id suggest boiling it instead, i boil my wood in a very large pot for 8 hours, it gets rid of tannins, kills anything on it and if you put it right into cold water will usually sink

 

[FrankDMann]

Thanks guys!

I had no luck finding any driftwood around here, believe it or not, so I broke down and bought some off of ebay.

I won 2 auctions. One was for a nice centerpiece, and another was for 15 assorted smaller pieces. I'll do as colesea says, since the advice on river rocks worked so well!! (thanks again!).

One other question about this: If the wood doesn't sink, what can I do to help it settle to the bottom? Will the soaking it for 10 days help it to sink? Can I use some sort of adhesive to a rock or piece of slate? Can I screw it into something?


Thanks!!

 

[MrKrispy]

I just stuck a couple of rocks on the wood using some rubber bands, and it sank. Keep the rubber bands around, good to attach zucchini if you have a pleco...

 

[colesea]

Silicon the wood to slate or another weighted object, that works, although you do have to wait about two to three days for the silicon to cure and dry properly before you place it in your tank. Rubber banning the wood to stone is also a good idea as well, although the rubber bands will dry out eventually and loose their elastic properties. Never stack anything on top of a floating piece of wood to hold it down. Unfortunately if the wood comes loose, it will likely topple the things on top of it and possibly cause damage to your tank or fish.
~~Colesea

 

[FrankDMann]

Originally posted by colesea
Bleach would absorb into the wood and leach out, but there is a way around it. I love using wood from the beach because it already come leached of its natural tannis as well as completely debarked and debrided into awsome shapes. Any salt that is on the wood is usually just encrusted on the surface, so a good soaking pre-tank will get rid of it.

Colesea - I'd really love to see some pics of your tank...it sounds great!!! Thanks for all of the great advice!

 

[sony]

I have boiled my driftwood 5 times and everytime is about 5 hours. I still can not get rid of tannins, why?

Sony

 

[longtyme68]

Great advice everyone. I am glad to see this post, because I just found a nice piece of driftwood that I would like to use in my revamp.