Driftwood not sinking!

amazontank

Redtail Catfish
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Nov 14, 2010
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I got some of this cool wood and was wondering if I attach a heavy piece of slate rock to that large piece on the right and a even more slate on the smaller ones to make a caves for my plecos.
Since the tank is only a 180 how much water would I realistically be loosing doing all that? Seems to be to be a lot of weight in the water all that wood and slate.
If I leave the piece halfway out of the water and take the cover off that seems to be the only way I might be able to use the driftwood.

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Red Cichlids

Piranha
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Jul 27, 2019
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Give it time. I usually weigh down new wood with rocks until it becomes waterlogged, which might take a few months. If the wood has not been in an aquarium before, it will need to cure, during which time it will be releasing a lot of tannins and organic material into the tank. If this is the case you will need to make frequent large water changes so it doesn't foul your tank.

As far as the amount of water displaced by the wood, I don't think it usually is significant, though it might add up to a few gallons.
 

fishguy1978

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Time, time , and add a little more time. My alder logs took a while to sink too.
 

duanes

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6 weeks is nothing for some wood types to get waterlogged.
This photo was taken Oct 2019.
0C475653-B967-4C98-BF9C-E7BED7F76897_1_201_a.jpeg
Below, taken in March 2020 it is slowly starting to sink
D55C93E3-9CF1-411C-AC21-967E7B1E0A37_1_201_a.jpeg
A couple weeks later it has finally sunk
DCD01F2F-DBF5-4454-B049-3A3E7F4BD7AC_1_201_a.jpeg
For some long pieces of wood I picked up in the U.S., I would put in a rain barrel and leave there all winter, freezing and thawing to get it ready for a tank.
1603999123778.png
 

amazontank

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Thanks! I might end up presoaking some of the big pieces!
Usually the wood I get thru bigals sink after a couple weeks.
These new hollow jumbo pieces I got were a lot heavier than I thought.
 

robmcd

Goliath Tigerfish
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Be patient. It'll sink in due time.
 

Brent419

Candiru
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Oct 2, 2014
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I use a lot of “wild caught” driftwood in my tanks. Some pretty large pieces. I have never soaked mine... what I do is drill some holes through it at the bottom. Run some cable tied through the holes and run them through a flat piece of plastic (old UGF filter plates work well but you can also use egg crate or anything else). I then bury the plate in the substrate. Oftentimes I’ll have to add a bunch of rocks but within a few months the rocks can be moved and readjusted. I even have a really large one right now that I had to use a few bricks behind it to help hold down!!!
 
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