Driftwood preparation

[Russ]

Hi,
I just bought a large 17" X 16" X 12" piece of mounted driftwood from ebay and was wondering what's the best way to prepare it to make it safe for the tank.

Thanks,
Russ

[Discus Ranz]

How ya doin Russ?
Im sure everyone has their way of doing it. I have a 40 gallon tub that I soak my woods in for about a week to two weeks to get any foreign chemicals and such off. Once the tannins stop turning the water dark Its usually ready. I change the water in it every couple days as well.

Hope that helps.

~Ranz~

[Russ]

Thanks Ranz, so you just soak it, you don't need to add anything to the water to sterilize it?

-Russ

[Discus Ranz]

I havent had any problems just soaking it. I use woods only intended for aquatic use though. I wouldnt even know what to sterilize it with. Someone else here might have that answer, but Ive never had to come across it. Thats why I soak it sometimes up to two weeks.

Some of the woods I have gotten are from places that have them sitting on the floor under shelves and what not, so who knows what kind of creepy crawlies and chemicals have gotten on it. I just change the water in the tub every two days.

~Ranz~

[troysdiiscus]

Hey Russ, If you cant boil it, you could wash in a part bleach solution, soak in water treated with prime and rinse some more...

[pastry]

russ, i'd be mad as hell if i had to sterilize a piece of wood that i purchased. i usually just go pick out my own from nearby lakes, cure it, and stick it in. i know you've already made the purchase so what troy says is what i did with just the bleach portion (10% bleach to 90% water.... sit for a day... drain & repeat... drain and fill with 100% water for 24 hours... drain & repeat... leave in the sun for a little bit... stick in a fishless tank... introduce a few tetras and see if they die or live... after a day or more of tetras still alive then plop discus in :D )

[Discus Ranz]

russ, i'd be mad as hell if i had to sterilize a piece of wood that i purchased. i usually just go pick out my own from nearby lakes, cure it, and stick it in. )

When I was still up in Washington, I would go to the Sound and just pick it up off the beaches. I would soak it for a week in fresh water to get the sea water out of it though. Got some awesome pieces!!! Of course....... here in El Paso..... they have dried up cactus. Not so pretty............................

Good idea on the bleach solution.

~Ranz~

[pastry]

ranz, I think the dried up cactus look could be a trend you could get going :p I'm with you though, it's like a kid in a candy store when you could walk a beach or a lake littered with awesome pieces of driftwood and then pick what you want. I usually can't decide on several pieces so I bring them all back! It's been a loooong time since I've done it but getting into the mood to change out driftwood sometime this year. ***disclaimer*** just like sex, not all wood is safe ;) pick your own wood at your own risk

[Russ]

I talked to the person I bought the driftwood from and she said most people just put the wood right in the tank with no problems but if I wanted to take precautions she suggested putting the wood in the oven and bake at 200 deg for an hour, has anyone tried this before?

[DiscusJimmy]

Haven't tried the oven but used a dishwasher to get tannin's out of my 2 pieces of wood. Just put it on the hottest setting, obviously nothing else in the washer at the same time!

Then soaked it again for a couple more days.

[GrayLadyPat]

I bought a nice piece a while back from my LFS. I soaked it in plain old water from the tap. The chlorine and additives in the tap water should be enough to kill any creepies. I soaked for roughly a week, making sure that most of the tannins were out, and then for a couple of days in Prime-treated water to remove any tapwater nasties that may be in the wood. I threw it in my tank, and everyone is happy.

If you're worried about Chemicals from the storage facility it came from, then use the bleach method.

[Discus Ranz]

I'm with you though, it's like a kid in a candy store when you could walk a beach or a lake littered with awesome pieces of driftwood and then pick what you want. I usually can't decide on several pieces so I bring them all back!

LOL!!! I would find a piece that, maybe 1 1/2 ft of the end was all I wanted, but it was attached to a 6ft piece. Id drag the whole thing to my truck and cut it up at home. All the left over pieces were good firewood.

~Ranz~

[GrayLadyPat]

True story:

I was going to go down to the lake and see if anything was interesting, as the lake had fallen because of the drought we've had here for so long. Then it rained...a LOT...and by the time I got to the lake, it had come up 18 inches... all my nice driftwood areas are now under water.... :(

[Discus Ranz]

Slightly unrelated....... but,
Back up in Washington, I would collect serious amounts of rain water. There was an ABUNDANCE there, I had tarps with tubs and barrels. I would collect it in anything I could. I would do a 70% water change with it and BAM!!! Instant eggs.

Down here in El Paso................ lots of sand. Lots & lots of sand.................... no rain.

~Ranz~