Drift Wood

[MamaPish]

I have a wonderful piece of driftwood I got from my mom today.......she has had it for a while.... it was in her front yard up on some steps....along with many other pieces....and one huge piece ...like 5 foot long, I would love to add to a larger tank later, but my question is.....how do I prepare the wood so it is safe to put in my aquarium.
Thanks,
Trish

 

[Great Lakes]

First we will get the usual warnings out of the way about using a piece of wood that may have been exposed to pesticides or other chemicals around the home.

That being done and said, heat is the assured method of destrying any bugs, parasites, creepy crawlies associated with the wood. I pick mine directly from the beach so I skip this and go right to the second step. Soak and scrub with a stiff brush,...for a couple days. Then if the piece is real large, I use STAINLESS screws and secure a sheet of plastic to the base to load the gravel on to help weight it down.

 

[MamaPish]

Hummmmm.............

I didn't think about chemicals........I am sure it has been exposed to fertilizer and maybe pesticides over the years from the overspray of pecan trees.


So I guess I can quit boiling water and find a good spot in my garden for this huh.

Where is the best place to find drift wood....i.e....lake, river...we are to far from the coast, but we have a wonderful river and lake here.

What qualifies it to be "driftwood" ?

Just trying to save a buck!
Thanks,
Trish da MamaPish

 

[Great Lakes]

Trish, a lot of folk just go pluck them from the water. Find the root of a tree or some other unusual looking specimen near the shoreline, and drag it home.

As far as what qualifies as "driftwood"....I would have to defonr it as a piece of wood that has been subject to water long enough to "wash" all sap and bark from it.

 

[MamaPish]

Thanks Great Lakes,

I went to the local river yesterday and found a couple of pieces, but will be taking hubby with me today to see if we can find just that right piece. (If I can keep the fishing pole out of his reach!!)

 

[cichlid_freak]

What part of Texas are you from? I live near Houston and don't really trust the water around here, even though I live about 45 min. from Houston.

GL- Do you think the factories and everything around here make "selecting" driftwood around here not possible? I have been too nervous to try it yet.

 

[MamaPish]

I am in Mineral Wells....lol

About an hour West of Fort Worth.

I am not so sure I am going to try it out or not...........It has been a pain trying to get this stuff clean......I have been boiling and pouring all day....it just seems to get worse as it soaks.... I think I am going to put out the extra money for this project!
Trish

 

[Great Lakes]

It is always a risk collecting your own. But I don' really know where the stuff in the lfs is collected either....

 

[Doohic722]

what do you guy's think about the driftwood that sells on ebay, alot of the sellers in the heading say their for reptiles fish ect. Are these really ok for fish tanks?

If I was to purchase one are there any percausions I should take?

or are there any online stores that have alot of different pieces of drift wood specially ment for fish tanks?

thanks

 

[Great Lakes]

I would say that driftwood is always a buyer beware situation. It is not regulated inany way that I am aware of at least.

This doesn't stop me fromthunking it in my tank though..... )

I would just be sure to excercise the proper boilig/baking/soaking/scrubbing procedures no matter where I procured it.

 

[DUECE69]

i live on the gulf coast and have plenty of drift wood that washes up my yard just had to clean it up .

 

[MamaPish]

I agree with Great Lakes,

here is an email conversation I had with a large seller of driftwood on ebay:



QUESTION:

is this aquarium ready?

If so what process did you go through to get it ready?
Thanks,
just want to make sure my fish are safe!

ANSWER:
oh yes you can certainly use this in aquarium,it has been cleaned extremely and has not been treated with anything, i just clean them to bring out the natural grain in them....this is one beautiful piece of wood....


QUESTION

Do you mind explaining "how" you cleaned it?

ANSWER:
water and scrub brush,tooth brush and other brushes...




QUESTION

I am sorry to keep bugging you...I have the bid in this driftwood right now, and really like this piece, but I have learned more about putting driftwood in your aquarium since I have started bidding on some pieces, and I have even brought some home from the river to try to clean for my aquarium, and as I am sure you know it is not easy!

I have learned the wood has to be soaked for a long time or it will turn your aquarium's water dark...


well....here is what I read:

Driftwood
Driftwood can be added to an aquarium as a decoration. It should be added to tanks with algae-eating catfish like plecostomus and otocinclus because they require wood for roughage. The problem with adding newly purchased driftwood to a tank is that it will leach or release lignins and, to a lesser degree, tannins which are chemicals found in wood. Besides lowering the pH of the water, lignins and tannins will make the water brown and murky and foamy. Even with a good filtering system, the wood will continue to foul the tank for months as it continually leaches lignins and tannins. To prevent this, all new driftwood needs to be treated.

Soaking:
The simplest, but longest method is to submerge the wood in a bucket of tap water. Change the water a few times a week. When you discover that the water you are changing is clear, the wood is ready. This may take many weeks or even months.

Boiling:
A faster way to leach lignins and tannins is to boil the wood. If the wood is too large for any of your pots, you can pour boiling water (or just hot water from the tap) into the bucket or even trash can holding the wood (as long as you do not melt the container). The hotter water will leach the lignins and tannins very quickly. After the wood boils for 10 to 20 minutes, let it cool. Change the water and repeat the process. Then, after the second cooling, place the wood in a bucket as described above and continue until the water is clear when you change it. With a small piece of wood, the boiling may be enough. With larger pieces, it may take a few weeks of water changes to get clear water.

Salt:
Aquarium salt can be added to the water during boiling or sitting in the bucket. The exact amount in not important but it should be about the concentration found in a salt water tank. In the boiling situation, it increases the boiling temperature, thus leaching even more lignins and tannins. Also, both the salt and boiling water kill any bacteria and live creatures in the wood (a must if you treat virgin wood). The salt seems to help leach the lignins and tannins faster too. Be sure to soak the driftwood in a bucket of water without salt for a week or so to leach all of the salt back out of the wood (unless you already have a high salt concentration in the tank anyway).

If I win this auction, will I need to prepare it for the aquarium, or has it already been boiled...and or soaked...with or with out aquarium salt?

Thanks again,

ANSWER:

no sweetie i don't boil or soak em...by the time i finally get one clean i don't even wanna see it again...lolol...hehehe just kidding but yes cleaning the wood is a very tedious process but i love driftwood and i love to see the grain come back....i have had requests for the weathered look so i clean them but i do not scrub for the grain on a few of them but mostly they are cleaned and grain is brought back out like a new piece of wood.......this particular piece is soaking for you so i can see...it is slowing sinking as the air bubbles leave and it is getting water logged but it is not leaching anything, no discoloration what so ever and it has been soaking for about an hour now.....i think with any driftwood it is dry from land and needs soaked to get water logged again to sink, so almost all driftwood needs to soak to sink but as far as leaching i hear that it does not hurt the fish in any way ,it just makes the water look bad, till it gets it all leached...they say it is very good thing to add oak leaves to an aquarium with wood as it lowers the ph and fish just love em to play in....i'm sure this piece will sink but it just makes it weigh more so i usually don't try to soak em, as far as leaching i do not believe this piece will, but i will let ya know if ya want me to keep soaking it for you, but usually if they are gonna leach they will do it as soon as you start soaking them...i soak in very hot water which don't take as long, but so far so good ....you are not bugging me sweetie, i am here to listen and help in any way i can.....

it is releasing gobbs of air bubbles which is normal as it is logging with water but no leachin when i put it in the water so that is good sign, this is one awesome piece as well, we'll just have to wait and see in the mornin...thanx bunches...


Well.....that was it, never heard from her again!
I think we all know what that water looked like the next morning!!
I am really glad someone outbid me!!!

Trish

 

[Doohic722]

Good info Mama, thanks

 

[mathman]

What would happen if i put a couple small peices of wood in my tank that were still green? I cut wood for heat and often come across awesome pieces. I had not even thought of it till I read this but I have one that would be awesome. It is pine...

I know not all advice found on here is good but I am willing to weigh and listen to anyones comments.

 

[mathman]

If that sounded snotty please read my quote lol. I have constant foot in mouth disease.... )