Drift wood

[new2discuss]

I am looking to put more driftwood in a new tank that is just cycling right now. Driftwood is so expensive for a nice piece but If I can go find some my self along a river it would save a lot of money. But I am worried about what ever could be on it also I live with a lot of pine trees. What should I do?

[adapted]

Soak whatever you find in a bleach solution for a day or so. WIth luck the piece you use will be a hardwood and won't rot in the tank.

[BODYDUB]

Me personally, I wouldn't soak wood in a bleach solution. But I would boil the heck out of it!!!!!!

[rickztahone]

Soak whatever you find in a bleach solution for a day or so. WIth luck the piece you use will be a hardwood and won't rot in the tank.


Me personally, I wouldn't soak wood in a bleach solution. But I would boil the heck out of it!!!!!!

agreed. Soaking DW in bleach is a bad idea. Boiling is the way to go.

[adapted]

Boiling can impractical for larger pieces. I don't know what your reservation is regarding bleach, but I've done it multiple times with no downside. You do want to rinse thouroughly and/or soak in Prime.

[new2discuss]

The pieces are too big to get in a pot or in the microwave

[rickztahone]

Boiling can impractical for larger pieces. I don't know what your reservation is regarding bleach, but I've done it multiple times with no downside. You do want to rinse thouroughly and/or soak in Prime.
If you leave the DW in with bleach for too long it will soak up the bleach and it will leech out later which may cause problems.


The pieces are too big to get in a pot or in the microwave

If you have a large HomeDepot bucket, put the DW in there and boil a large pot(s) of water and dump in the bucket. If the DW is still too big for that, then you can use a larger container, like a brute trash can or something like that.

[MendoMan]

I'm with the no bleach crowd but if you let it dry most of the bleach would be gone. I used a large pot I use for boiling crabs on an outdoor burner and boiled the pieces about 2 hours to draw out the tannin, I didn't like the yellow water and i'm sure if there was any coudies on the wood it would have been gone. The pot doesn't have to be big enough to fit the whole piece at once you can do half and then turn it over. After that long boil I no more staining of the water.

[Dneitzelt]

I have boiled branches before, for my old fish tanks, no pine though.

[Fish24]

Soak it then set it outside in the heat then soak it again

[daffyfish]

You can also run it thru the dishwasher a couple of times, if it will fit. Hottest setting with no detergent.

[drondy]

Don't use pine. It is to soft and will rot quickly.

[DISCUS STU]

A friend of mine used to do this with wood he found in the Passaic River and also Passaic River sand. He had one very large branch in a 125 gallon tank and basically washed it in hot water. His setup was Wild Blue and Brown Discus, it was really nice. Once the branch is out of the water for any length of time, anything living in it would probably not be a problem.

[kkdiscus]

Those being sold commercially I doubt they got bleach or boil treatment.

[Tankster]

Larger pieces can be treated using a galvanized metal trashcan form your local big box hardware store.
You will need to buy or provision 3-6 cinderblock, a 6 pack of your favorite beer and a lawn chair, marshmallows and a pointy stick.

Set the can on the cinder block and build your fire underneath. recline in your lawn chair with pointy stick, marshmallows and beer. You are set for a good 3-4 hour boil.