how to make drift wood aquarium safe?

[Vicfortier]

Howdy folks! I was once told by a lfs worker that if I bought some drift wood I should soak it in bleach to ensure it is free of parasites and such. Could someone tell me exactly how to do this? I wouldn't think bleach would be a good idea at all with anything to do with an aquarium. Also I have some nice pieces of wood I got from the river and was wondering if I could make them safe for aquarium use.

[Second Hand Pat]

You could boil it to kill any nasties. I soak mine in a 33 gallon brute trash can to water log the wood. I would not do bleach.

[strawberryblonde]

If the piece is too large to boil, you can bleach it to kill pests, but it requires extra steps to ensure that it's safe for the aquarium once the bleaching is complete.

After you bleach it, soak it in fresh water, rinse, soak in more fresh water, rinse, and on and on till you can't smell the bleach on the wood anymore. At that point soak it again but add Prime to the water in order to remove chlorine from the wood fibers. It's a tedious process to be sure that all the bleach is removed from the wood.

Boil it if you can. Years ago I had a huge piece and ended up tossing it in one of Pat's type trash cans. I then boiled water and poured it over the wood. I had four huge pots boiling on my stove at the same time and a trash can on wheels sitting in the corner of the kitchen. The room smelled...hmmm...woodsy. My kids came home from school and asked me if I was making stone soup!

SB

[JL15219]

You could boil it to kill any nasties. I soak mine in a 33 gallon brute trash can to water log the wood. I would not do bleach.
+1 I would boil it if possible

[William Palumbo]

Javier...empty your in-box...Bill

[JL15219]

Javier...empty your in-box...Bill

I did Bill try again

[scottthomas]

I would not bleach it. It could soak up too uch chlorine and leach in your water. Just boil it or even easier, just let it sit in the direct sun outside for a few weeks. You could probably even bake it if you are just trying to kill biologicals.

[JL15219]

I would not bleach it. It could soak up too uch chlorine and leach in your water. Just boil it or even easier, just let it sit in the direct sun outside for a few weeks. You could probably even bake it if you are just trying to kill biologicals.
Oh yeah you can bake it in the oven in a cake pan with water and just flip it over periodically....

[strawberryblonde]

Oh yeah you can bake it in the oven in a cake pan with water and just flip it over periodically....

...on low heat! And stick around the whole time just in case you smell burning wood. (it's happened before...trust me...lol)

[Darrell Ward]

Nah! If the wood has never been used in a tank, or is completely dry, just soak it till it sinks, and you're good. I have a 100 gal. Rubbermaid stock tank I use for that and other tasks. Put some water in it, throw it in and wait. If you want to remove the tannins, change the water every few days until no more tannins leach. I've never sanitized dry wood, never had a problem. (We're talking decades here) Completely dry wood is not going to harbor aquatic disease.

[JL15219]

Nah! If the wood has never been used in a tank, or is completely dry, just soak it till it sinks, and you're good. I have a 100 gal. Rubbermaid stock tank I use for that and other tasks. Put some water in it, throw it in and wait. If you want to remove the tannins, change the water every few days until no more tannins leach. I've never sanitized dry wood, never had a problem. (We're talking decades here) Completely dry wood is not going to harbor aquatic disease.

True true.....