Bogwood

[Wilsta]

When I visit certain lakes i usually go hunting for stuff i can put in the aquarium such as rocks however i found this great place where there is heaps of bogwood floating about and thought i would take some from mother nature (no i didnt use a saw and cut bits off) they are small free standing wood... but here is my question how do you prepare salt water bogwood for a fresh water aquarium??? do i throw it in the bath and soak it? is there any sort of stuff i can get so it doesnt deteriorate that i can apply? any suggestions would be appreciated... i aint paying big dollars for bogwood, the aqauriums can get stuffed for all i care hehe!

thanks in advance

 

[knutty]

i made such a mess doing this. i found some great wood when i was at my parents house in florida on the intracoastal waterway. I took some home, boiled it for a while, baked it for a while, dried it and repeated. no matter what i did, i was unable to get all of the tannin out of it. my bucket water was always brown. i soaked it in baking soda water to kill the nasties and flushed about 2 times daily for a week. still had brown water. finally, the wood started to fall apart. baking released a sappy substance. soaking made mucky water. i could not win. i think the basic outline is baking soda water soak, rinse soak, rinse soak, rinse soak, bake, then soak more if needed. keep soaking uintil clean. i gave it a week. then i said forget it and started using more rocks and live plants. =)

 

[pmoyniha]

I have read and have had experience with polyurithane (spell?) on wood like that. If you seal it completely you won't have a problem. I don't know how the rooting of plants will affect this, but in my turtle tank it is working beautifully and has for 6 years. I also read an article about it with bamboo stems that have been dried out.

 

[De Plano]

Polyurethane and three coats, letting it dry completly between coats.

 

[joshua]

Nothing to do with wood but, can polyurethane be used for my wrought iron stand? my dad said can, but when i went to the shop the shop guy also said its for wood

 

[De Plano]

It should say on the label whether it is ok for metal. There are lots of paints and coatings for metal. I would just go to a hardware store and ask them what to use.