Just got driftwood today

[cookie22]

meant to add only cost me £4.95 i think he let me have it cheap as its about 10'' long and 8'' high and i was dithering whether to buy any more stuff

 

[pendragon]

dont understand why some float some sink.

Again, it's mostly a function of the kind of wood. It has to do with density, if I remember science classes correctly. Most wood floats naturally, but some doesn't. My LFS carries chunks of "African Ironwood" - whatever that is - it looks like very dark wood but feels almost like rock. You couldn't make it float if you had to (well, maybe if you had to). A lot of the types of wood that float can eventually be made to sink once they're sufficiently "waterlogged" - but it can take a loooooooong time before this happens. Again, largely depends on the properties of the wood.

pendragon!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

nice price on that.

what i've been blathering about is the reason some sink and some don't. bouyancy (or the force that makes things float) is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid displaced:

• Fb = (density of fluid)(gravity)(volume of displacement)

when the bouyancy exceeds the weight of an object, the object floats. the reasons some driftwood sinks are:

• (1) the weight of the driftwood exceeds its bouyancy (peices weighed down with stuff)
  (2) the driftwood is waterlogged which means that all of its microscopic channels are filled with water and the weight of the water displaced by it is now less than the weight of the wood.

driftwood in condition #1 will with time enter condition #2. this is called "settling".

the reason i've been badgering Raechal to give me those measurements is so i can give her an approximate weight which will overcome the bouyancy. otherwise its just trial and error. plus, maths is fun!

--EDIT--
nothing to see here...

 

[OohFeeshy]

If anyone else has 'fun maths' give it to me. I'll have no idea what to do, but I'm so bored, who cares. Anyways, you only need to stuff it with enough rocks to make the average density over 2gm/cm3. I know water is 1g/cm3, but you have to take surface area into account.

Please ignore me, I'm an idiot.

 

[Blue Lobster]

I only have 159 posts. DURRRRRRDAAAAAHHHHDUUUUURRRRR

 

[littlefishie]

I only have 159 posts. DURRRRRRDAAAAAHHHHDUUUUURRRRR

You must not know anything then!

pica, are you crazy? Fun maths? FUN?! I hate maths so much.. it makes me want to cry.
Though I can definitely see it being useful for this.

 

[kevin007]

..this used to be one of the my most hated problems..until..well..eh follow these steps..it'll probably sink by then..worked for me

BOIL IT..as in BOIL. not the hot water in tubs..i put my driftwood in a damn pot on my stove with BOILING water.. i boiled it for 2 hours..dumped water out did it again..twice each day for 1 WEEK! (u shoul've seen the tannins comming out..it was like tea!) and then the next saturday (water change time!) i put the wood in..it sunk just gotta have patience..hope it helps you

 

[SarahBravo]

Or you could forget the drilling and the screws (sounds like an accident waiting to happen) and get some fishing wire or black thread, tie it around each end of the wood and tie off each end to a rock or a suction cup hidden under your substrate or behind a plant. Those sucky cups are really strong, and if you use them instead of a rock you shouldn't even see the thread.

I'm all for an easy life!

Wot's a drill?

Sarah

(PS - yes I do use Scotchtape and/or staples to fix the hems on my jeans. Just watch out for staples, they go rusty when you wash them!!!)

 

[Raechal]

The log is not all the way hollow, I would have just stuffed it with rocks or gravel if it was. Although since I have 1000 posts you already knew I was smart enough to figure that out.

Anyways, the end of it is only hollow, for about 5 inches and then it is solid again. I have tried boiling it, and no tannins are even coming out. I don't know the dimensions and I am so frustrated with it, I don't even feel like looking at the darn thing.

I tried the suction cup thing but I have sand substrate and every single time I cleared a spot for the suction cup, sand would fill back down and cover the glass. I tried for hours and couldn't get it to stick. The only place I could stick it to was the side of the glass.

 

[Discus man]

I only have 159 posts. DURRRRRRDAAAAAHHHHDUUUUURRRRR

Oh great thanks for telling us that i wont sleep now for at least 2 weeks over the exitment

 

[Candyco]

Coooooooo that would look lovely in my garden!

 

[OohFeeshy]

I hope mine's going to sink.... Unfourtunately I won't be able to find out for a while. I have to wait for dad to reinforce the toybox so I can wash the sand so I can put water in so I can put the wood in so I can put plants in so I can cycle so I can put fish in so I can breed corys so I can make money so I can buy more tanks.... its a vicious circle..... And I still have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[Candyco]

I hope mine's going to sink.... Unfourtunately I won't be able to find out for a while. I have to wait for dad to reinforce the toybox so I can wash the sand so I can put water in so I can put the wood in so I can put plants in so I can cycle so I can put fish in so I can breed corys so I can make money so I can buy more tanks.... its a vicious circle..... And I still have no idea what I'm talking about.

That sounds like the jibberish i normally come out with!

 

[rdd1952]

BOIL IT..as in BOIL. not the hot water in tubs..i put my driftwood in a damn pot on my stove with BOILING water.. i boiled it for 2 hours..dumped water out did it again..twice each day for 1 WEEK! (u shoul've seen the tannins comming out..it was like tea!) and then the next saturday (water change time!) i put the wood in..it sunk just gotta have patience..hope it helps you

The problem with boiling it is the size. Not easy to find a pot to put a 17" x 25" piece of wood in. Also doubt anyone has a burner on the stove large enough for that.

As far as sinking, it will continue to float until it is waterlogged. Can you put it in the tub and lay something heavy (rocks, even old gravel in bags) on the ends?

One question I have about driftwood is does it really need to be boiled to clean it? I just bought a piece yesterday from Big Al's (arrived yesterday). It looks great and is very clean, almost looks like it has been sandblasted. As I said to begin, I don't have anything large enough to boil it in and I'm afraid if I bake it, it will blacken from the heat.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Gibberish is about right.... sitting around bored all day and drinking 2 l of cola as fast as possible does nothing for your mental capacity.... Well, dads done the toybox, so I'm just checking for leaks (leaving a few inches of water in overnight.) then I can wash the sand tomorrow and find out whether its sink or swim for the wood.