DIY Driftwood

[Zhewitt04]

I went out and got some drift wood from a local creek about a couple of months ago. I then took it home let it set in my garage a couple of weeks. I put it in our tub at home (my wife was not happy but hey easier to ask for forgiveness) in the hottest water possible. I let the jets run for about an hour. I then lost interest because I was so far from getting the tank setup and had other things to work on. I put it outside on the end of my deck. It has been rained on frozen thawed and even snowed on.
After all this I have decided that driftwood is so expensive I don't want to buy any. I don't know what to do to get this ready for my tank. I can't boil it, the pieces are too big.
I guess my questions are.....
Can I assume that anything harmful died on with the freeze it has went through?
How do I get the wood to not leach the awful color I have heard about?
How long would at room temp would the wood have to set for it to stop leaching?
How often would I need to change the water in order for the leaching to stop? once a day once a week?
Thanks

 

[tlindsey]

When you put in the tub the first time you were good, after the soaking in hot water, I would have suggested storing it in your basement or boxed up in a closed garage. As for the tannins you probably will still get some leaching, honestly it may depend on the type of driftwood.

 

[tlindsey]

While you wait for other members to reply use the search bar for diy driftwood or driftwood, and see what others have experienced.

 

[Zhewitt04]

I have done a search but my issues were pretty specific.

 

[tomojsg]

since you soaked the wood already just hose it down or pressure wash it and your good
to go. as for the tannins leaching into your tank you can use active carbon and purigen
to remove the tannin keep your water clear for a couple of months until it stops leaching
tannins into your water or to the point its unnoticeable

 

[predatorkeeper87]

just letting the wood dry is usually enough to prepare it for a tank. a good wash and its good to go. most of my driftwood is scavenged from creeks, never had an issue.

 

[pelleeklund]

I used a tree root that I cut down and just hosed off. Besides the fact that it floated for a bit it worked great. I would definitely say the tannin leaching would depend on the wood but I couldn't tell you which wood would leach the most or be able to ID your root. I hate to give this kind of non scientific answer but I'd just huck it in and hope for the best, sometimes you can think too much. Also I found that if your having trouble sinking it you may want to drill a hole through a couple pices of slate then bolt them in to the bottom of your piece. Not permanently, just until it water logs and stays put. Here's a shot I found that has the root I'm still keeping in my 220, it's big enough to keep aggression from turning bad in most cases, plus it looks cool and it was free. Good luck with yours.

 

[Zhewitt04]

Thanks so much. I appreciate the help.

 

[PhysicsDude]

I have a bunch of driftwood in my tank that I took from a local lake. I just hosed it off with hot water in my shower. The wood leeched tannins for about 3 months, but nothing a weekly water change couldn't fix.

You should be fine. I siliconed my driftwood to my tank with brown GE II silicone before filling it up, that way the wood didn't float or move or anything.

I would recommend washing the wood down with hot water and maybe some bleech incase some weird microorganisms found a home in it while sitting outside.