I've been given some very nice, large pieces of driftwood for future tanks. My question is - how do I make it tank safe? The wood is from the Hudson River, collected along the banks. The only thing I can think of doing is buying a large metal trough & putting it over a bonfire to boil the wood. I plan on collecting more this summer when it's a wee bit warmer. Any suggestions are appreciated. Not worrying about water logging the wood, just making sure it's safe for FW stock.
How do you prepare LARGE driftwood?
- Thread starter Eclipse390
- Start date
A trashcan or kiddie pool filled with bleach water and a several week soaking.. adding more bleach every week to replaced the amount gassed off. If it doesn't fit, then one side at a time. Then add several more weeks of a regular soaking to dissipate any remaining bleach.
I would take it a step further and add Seachem Safe to the water to neutralize the bleach. I've learned, the hard way, that soaking alone doesn't always "rid" bleach residue....especially when you're involving something that soaks in liquid like a sponge
But to avoid bleach - would boiling be enough? With a big fire & a metal trough, I could probably boil the pieces.
DO NOT USE a metal trough. The galvanized surface will leach excessive zinc into the water. The wood will absorb and get coated with the zinc. Large amounts of zinc will cause neurological damage to fish and herps.
This is EXACTLY why I posted! Had no idea. Any other container that would have a high enough melting point so that I could boil these pieces?
what about prior steps, i always see posts about preparing driftwood from a certain point (dead dry/wet natural collection) but what about starting with a live plant? is there an easier way than letting it age for months or years?
Not really. The long wait is to allow plant sugars and tannins to fully leach out of the wood. Heat will accelerate the process but, has the huge drawback of the wood decomposing more quickly once placed in the tank.
