Preparing Driftwood

[erk628]

I went to the lake today and found quit a few nice piece of driftwood. Now I've never had driftwood in my tanks before so I'm not sure what I have to do to them before adding them to my tank. Right now I have them all setting in a bathtub in the basement that we never use. I was planning on filling the tub up and letting them soak for awhile prob about a month.

So my questions are what do I need to do with them to get them ready for the tank. Also I'm not sure if some are going to sink or not is there away to waterlog them so they will sink instead of tieing them down or weighing them down with rocks.

Right now theres no water in the tub waiting until tommorrow so I can go to walmart to get a drain stopper.

 

[hamfist]

Good luck in getting them to sink. I think the whole point of driftwood, is that it floats, and that is why it is found on the shoreline and not at the bottom of the water.

As for preparation, I 'd go for soaking after a good scrubbing in hot water. Change the water every few days when you soak them, or you'll be in danger of parasites and other nasties growing in the water.

 

[roadmaster]

Good luck in getting them to sink. I think the whole point of driftwood, is that it floats, and that is why it is found on the shoreline and not at the bottom of the water.

As for preparation, I 'd go for soaking after a good scrubbing in hot water. Change the water every few days when you soak them, or you'll be in danger of parasites and other nasties growing in the water.

I have driftwood in all of my aquariums but one. Unless the piece is very small, it will eventually become water logged and will indeed sink. many who use driftwood soak or boil the wood to not only kill parasites or fungus that may be present,but also to encourage the wood to relase tannins that color the water, a nice tea color. the tannins are harmless to fish but some don't care for the tea colored water. Tannins are a weak acid that can also work to lower the ph a little in aquariums but the effect is minimal unless using large ammounts of wood. Weekly water changes also prevent the tannins from lowering the ph very much.
Soaking the wood will ,over time,,,relase the tannins but if piece isn't too large for a large stew pot ,or other large pot,, I would were it me,boil the wood for an hour or two perhaps enmptying the pot after one hour,and refilling and boiling once again for an hour. Would NOT leave pot unattended.

I have done this as well as just soaking the wood for a month or perhaps longer, depending on the size of the piece of wood. also found it helpful to change the water frequently while using the soaking method. When water remains clear after a week,the wood is then placed in my aquarium.
With store bought wood,I think there is minimal chance of nasties ,but would still soak or boil the wood to be safe ,and relase the tannins mentioned that stain the water . Hope this helps.