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Boiling driftwood

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fishjamin

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Hi guys,

So I've bought some driftwood from my LFS and am trying to sterilise it before it goes in the tank. It's too big to boil in a pan so I've put it in a plastic container and filled it with about 15 kettles full of water (see pic).

Does this look the right thing to be doing with it? I'm a bit worried the chemicals from the plastic could come out into the wood and end up in the aquarium - is this a legit worry or is it or am I over thinking it? It's been in there a few hours and the water is still too hot to put my hand in comfortably but it's obviously not boiling. Is this ok?
 

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fishjamin said:
Hi guys,

So I've bought some driftwood from my LFS and am trying to sterilise it before it goes in the tank. It's too big to boil in a pan so I've put it in a plastic container and filled it with about 15 kettles full of water (see pic).

Does this look the right thing to be doing with it? I'm a bit worried the chemicals from the plastic could come out into the wood and end up in the aquarium - is this a legit worry or is it or am I over thinking it? It's been in there a few hours and the water is still too hot to put my hand in comfortably but it's obviously not boiling. Is this ok?
Click to expand...
its good releasing the tannins once it is cool redo it until theres none left.. check if your plastic is burn proof and if it is melting. if its not its fine
 
I would not boil wood, it will weaken the fibers and the wood will rot and fall apart much sooner. Soak it in room temp water if you want, I usually just rinse off the dust/dirt. Tannins are not harmful to fish, in fact soft water species can benefit.
 
Byron said:
I would not boil wood, it will weaken the fibers and the wood will rot and fall apart much sooner. Soak it in room temp water if you want, I usually just rinse off the dust/dirt. Tannins are not harmful to fish, in fact soft water species can benefit.
Click to expand...
yea i soak it and change every week in room temp, but some woods can take a long time, a bit of tannins are fine
 
Interesting - from what I'd read boiling it is pretty standard practice to get rid of parasites and the like but is this not necessary with bought wood?
 
fishjamin said:
Interesting - from what I'd read boiling it is pretty standard practice to get rid of parasites and the like but is this not necessary with bought wood?
Click to expand...
if its dried theres no need to remove parasites i think
store bought usually is already cleaned...
 
fishjamin said:
Interesting - from what I'd read boiling it is pretty standard practice to get rid of parasites and the like but is this not necessary with bought wood?
Click to expand...

If it is proper aquarium wood it should be dead dry and other than dusty, OK. The only risk, and there is no way to know in advance, is if there is a toxic substance within the wood. I had this once, back in the 1990's; I had the chunks of wood for over a year, and suddenly the fish slowly became more and more lethargic. With the help of a professional biologist, the problem came down to the wood; it was slowly leeching toxin, assumed to be from the wood species.
 
PorshaF said:
What about heat sterilize? I agree that it should have been cleaned already (of any parasites, not tannins haha)
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i bought driftwood online and there was an option to get rid of tannins on a MOUNTAIN SPRING
didnt see the option.... dang
 
PorshaF said:
Wait what? Lol do they take the wood to a mountain or bring you wood from the mountain? I need more information on this ?
Click to expand...
no they put it in a running water from a spring i think
 
Sgooosh said:
no they put it in a running water from a spring i think
Click to expand...
Huh. I've never heard of this. But my mom does the same thing for the pond at her house, just picks up cool wood from trees she knows and tosses them into the creek behind her house for a few months before she puts the wood in her pond. I'll have to ask if she's been withholding driftwood tips
 
There is no need to boil driftwood unless it has been exposed to Tuberculosis or something else like that. You only need to get it to 60 degrees Celsius for 10-15 minutes to kill things on it.

If you put hot/ boiling water into plastic containers, the plastic leech toxins into the water that can contaminate the wood and poison the fish.

If you want to disinfect driftwood that has been in a freshwater aquarium, soak it in salt water for a few days. Then rinse it with fresh water and let it dry.

If you want to disinfect driftwood that has been in a saltwater aquarium, soak it in fresh water for a few days. Then rinse it off and let it dry.
 
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