Collecting Wild Driftwood...
- Thread starter Steveo McNello
- Start date
Awesome. Sounds good! And by scrub it down you mean just with water right?
And yes I mentioned before I'd remove the bark.
Alright cool man thanks. I'll keep you guys posted with what I find and how the cleaning goes!
Great thread! I just collected some last night! the pieces i found weren't completely submerged and one piece has been completely dried for awhile. Instead of boiling it could I just soak the pieces in the bathtub with really hot water n b ok? have been scrubbed n soaked overnight. Planned on doing the same today. Would i be ok putting them into my tank tonight??
A few pieces i colleted yesterday. the straight one is beaver wood. the two big pieces are goin in my 55, the smaller rooted one is gone be chopped down further n put in my 10 gal!
Everybody keeps on saying to boil it and thankfully the pieces you are looking for are too big to boil because boiling driftwood just makes it break down faster. Just clean it real good and thats the best you can hope for or pressure wash it if possible(some people use bleach to soak it in).
Also if it floats a lot of people weigh it down with rocks but be very carefull, if a fish bumps into the rocks or the weight shifts causing the rocks to fall you may end up with a broken tank when the driftwood flies to the top of the tank
Also if it floats a lot of people weigh it down with rocks but be very carefull, if a fish bumps into the rocks or the weight shifts causing the rocks to fall you may end up with a broken tank when the driftwood flies to the top of the tank
^^^This. Be careful weighing it down.
Personally, I either:
-Just let it float until it sinks (could be a long while)
-Use stainless steel screws to screw it to slate or some other rock so it sinks with no fear of a rock being moved and my driftwood flying to the top of the tank possibly breaking something
other than that, I first spray it off with a hose. Then scrub really well with a hard bristled brush. Then spray off with the hose again. Then I put it outside on a table or something so it's not sitting on the ground, and let it bake in the sun for a long time. Then typically spray it with the hose and scrub again before putting it in the tank.
And I agree with the statement that the heavier the wood the better when looking for it. I only get dry wood (not submerged in teh river). And this has worked well for me.
Personally, I either:
-Just let it float until it sinks (could be a long while)
-Use stainless steel screws to screw it to slate or some other rock so it sinks with no fear of a rock being moved and my driftwood flying to the top of the tank possibly breaking something
other than that, I first spray it off with a hose. Then scrub really well with a hard bristled brush. Then spray off with the hose again. Then I put it outside on a table or something so it's not sitting on the ground, and let it bake in the sun for a long time. Then typically spray it with the hose and scrub again before putting it in the tank.
And I agree with the statement that the heavier the wood the better when looking for it. I only get dry wood (not submerged in teh river). And this has worked well for me.
I do not agree that boiling the wood is going to break it down faster. Your only going to boil it to kill off the bs you dont want living on it. I personally dont worry about tannins. Wood can soak for years upon years before it breaks down and rots. If you start with a good solid chunk of wood that isnt already soft and rotting you will have a nice piece of free dw to look at.
