keeping driftwood down?

[Ben]

hey guys
i recently goty a new peice of driftwood but it wont stay down! usually they just drift down to the bottom, but this one is too stubborn,

do any of you know how to keep it down?
right now it has a rock anchoring it down but it looks like $|-|!T in my planted tank

thanks

DD

 

[breezer40]

I have exactly the same problem with a peice of my wood I have never had a problem before but this peice just keeps floating! Any idea folks?

 

[Mr Miagi]

I recomend pre soaking, It removes the tannins and allows the wood to soak water in so it sinks when u put it in the display.

Id weight it down, or jam it underneath other pieces of wod and give it 2 weeks, or remove it altogether and place it in a bucket for soaking.

 

[cecilbdemented]

were they 'pre-wetted'? I normally find i have to leave them in the bath/bowl of water or something for a day or three to let them get fully soaked before theyll stay down by themselves. More to the point, unless its a naturally bouyant bit, it should be fine in a day or two. possibly.
all the best.phil

 

[eudielynn]

I boiled my driftwood for about 3 hours and then let it soak in hot water overnight. I read somewhere about the hot water making it more absorbent and would help it to sink faster. It worked like a charm.

 

[FishLuvr]

i brought my piece home, let the HOT water run until it was as hot as it could get then soaked the driftwood in a 5gallon bucket of that hot water over night, repeated that routine the next day till i got home and then used a "clean"untainted brush to get rid of any loose debris. rinsed it and set it in my tank, no discoloration of the water, and no floating back up, its been fine

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

When i first bought my driftwood i just piled some stones on top of it to weight it down and after a couple of days it was heavier enough with water to stay down on its own

 

[SirMinion]

I recommend buying bogwood instead of driftwood. It sinks.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah i prefer bogwood myself too- Tannins they release can be a bit annoying at times when they turn the water dark but i have heard they are good for fish so i don't bother too much with them, my bogwood in fry tank has certainly done somthing good for my fry as they seem a bit "perkier" since i put it in their tank .

 

[SirMinion]

Tannin is GOOOOOD!
...at least for blackwater species...

 

[Tolak]

I've taken a piece of slate with a hole drilled in it, & a brass or stainless screw to hold the slate to the bottom of the driftwood. You can hide the slate in the substrate, & remove it after a month or so if you like.

Tolak

 

[Ben]

thanks for all the helpful replies guys

SirM - i tried looking for bog wood but it was just driftwood everywhere

The reason i never boiled it is becuse, As SirM said, im making my tank black water and trying to turn it into a South American Bio Type

but so far it hasn't released any tannins

Thanks again

DD

 

[Whitey]

You can get strips of lead that are used to keep plants down im usre u could use it for bogwood aswell. (and before anyone moans its special lead designed for aquariums.)

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You can get strips of lead that are used to keep plants down im usre u could use it for bogwood aswell. (and before anyone moans its special lead designed for aquariums.)

Actually there is nothing special about the lead- its just bog standard normal lead but it is fine in most aquariums although it apparently starts to corrode at certain ph's so is not good for anyones aquarium unless they want very sick fish.

 

[Whitey]

Theres always one.