Riverwood

[sherry123]

I wasn't sure where to post this one..so forgive me if its wrong :) and hi again all... I just bought my first piece of driftwood, I was told to soak it for atleast 3 weeks to get the red out of it? is that a long time? (oh, and to change the water every day :)

[scottishbloke]

To minimize risk of disease transmission, leach a great deal of the tannins out of the wood, and make it waterlogged more quickly, boil it if you can in a big pot on the stove; if it is too big for that, at least soak it repeatedly a few times in a big Rubbermaid tub or bucket full of boiling water, making sure all the branches etc are fully submerged, and keep the lid on to help keep bacteria/mold etc from settling on the water surface and turning the water nasty. You can then use a heavy object such as a rock (boiled itself to sterilize it) to weigh the wood down if necessary and leave it to soak. A thick lumpy piece will usually take longer to sink than a branchy one; some people's wood sinks after several days, others, several weeks. When it stays sunk and the water is mostly or fully clear, you can put it in your tank. This is just my own way- lots of people on this forum prepare and soak their wood in many different ways, but all usually recommend boiling it first to kill any microscopic nasties it may be harboring. Discus are expensive fish to lose.

My 2 cents, feel free to disagree,

Colin

[sherry123]

Thanks Colin! Hadn't heard the boiling part before..can i boil half of it at a time lol ..its a big piece :) barely fits in the paint bucket i'm soaking it in
Sherry

[David Rose]

Did the source river have fish in it? I guess I'm a little concerned about what caused the redness.

[sherry123]

no idea :( ..i got it from petco at a real good price (it wasn't priced so she let me have it for about 1/2 of what it usually sold for. It was on a shelf not in the water..So far it's been soaking 3 days and I've changed the water everyday and it hasn't turned any color?

[David Rose]

Ahhh....purchased from a pet store...that's good. Around here people will actually go to a river or lake and bring something home.

You should be fine. :)

[pastry]

My wife & I had a blast setting up our 125 planted tank. We stole sand from the beach and picked out our own driftwood at a large local lake here in sc. We cured both the sand & wood the same. Part bleach and part water. I have a 55 gallon trash can for kegs & yard work and I put all of the sand in there while pouring bleach and water simultaneously (so all gets hit with bleach). I had the tank outside (empty) and put all the driftwood in there along with the same mix of bleach & water. I let all soak for a few days, emptied it all out (will kill grass... use a hose to siphon it towards somewhere you don't care about), and then filled it back up with plain water. I emptied that out and filled it back up with plain water for a few more days... then set up the tank. Once we got the tank set up & running for a week we then put a school of neons in it and a few corydoras. A few weeks later when all the fish were still alive we did a water change from our smaller discus tank, put that into the large tank (we actually did this several times throughout the few weeks w/o discus), and then plopped them right in. All fish are still doing great. No problems with wood. There's nothing like finding your own driftwood. We poured a few cocktails and went to the lake. We had a blast. One of many great times I've had with my wife... and that's one of the things I love about her... she likes my secret nerdy things :)