hey guys, I just picked up a piece of driftwood I found in my lake and want to put it in my tank. I spent about 10 minutes cleaning off the bugs and snails I saw on it, and it’s soaking in water right now. I was wondering what the next step would be to ensure I don’t introduce any snails or bacteria into my tank, would boiling work? How would I go about this? Any other tips are appreciated! Thanks
Driftwood from lake
- Thread starter jacob_s
- Start date
yup boil it in a big pot if you can. If not, you can soak it in saltwater for a while and that should kill anything that could hurt your freshwater fish. I would soak it in freshwater for a couple weeks before putting it in the tank as well. While soaking it, you will see a white film grow all over the wood, then it will go away. The film is colonies of bacteria eating the stuff on the wood, and once there is nothing to eat, they go away and the wood is safe for your tank.
It will probably leach tannins and turn your water brown, by the way.
It will probably leach tannins and turn your water brown, by the way.
I would also consider using bleach or peroxide, since those will eliminate most of any remaining organisms. Both can easily be neutralized with dechlorinator and a few rinses, after the wood is given a long soak.
I soaked driftwood from my local river in water with bleach in it. I left it in there for a few days, then soaked it in regular freshwater to rinse it for a few days, and into the tank it went.
Need to know what kind of wood it is too. Some kinds of trees are poisonous and can harm or kill fish.
https://www.wikihow.com/Bleach-Wood
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/bleaching-wood/#.WmkTO6hKsuU
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/bleaching-wood
That's not a problem. Bleach does not bond with wood, nor is it adsorbed. And dechlorinator will break down the tiny amount that isn't rinsed off. Imo, the problem isn't a residual amount of bleach, but a residual amount of wild bacteria or parasites.
Boiling for an extended period is certainly an option if the piece isn't too large.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/bleaching-wood/#.WmkTO6hKsuU
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/bleaching-wood
That's not a problem. Bleach does not bond with wood, nor is it adsorbed. And dechlorinator will break down the tiny amount that isn't rinsed off. Imo, the problem isn't a residual amount of bleach, but a residual amount of wild bacteria or parasites.
Boiling for an extended period is certainly an option if the piece isn't too large.