Driftwood Question

[Vertigon_z]

Good Morning All,

I recently purchased 2 pieces of driftwood online. When I received them I noticed they were way lighter(Weight) than I expected (I have many driftwoods all are heavy and solid feeling) and these are kind of soft (I can dig my nails into them). I love how they look but I am worried like what if they rot or are not good for the tank? Someone please advise if they know the species or if them being light and soft will damage my tank. I was advised that these are eighter Oak or Red Oak.

 

[Vertigon_z]

bump

 

[Justjoshinya]

Almost all wood will rot to some degree, but softer woods will rot more quickly. I'd suggest soaking the wood for a few weeks in a bucket or tub of water, change the water out every few days this will release most tannins into the water, this will also allow most of the rotting wood to be shed when you change the water in the buckets. You will notice the water will get tea color and smell after a couple weeks the smell and color will lessen and it should be good to go into your aquarium with minimal side effects.

 

[Justjoshinya]

Post a picture of one of the ends that is cut or cracked, is the wood soft throughout? Or just on the smooth surface?

 

[Vertigon_z]

J Justjoshinya i can upload in the morning, but all the sides and stuff is soft ... the wood almost feels light as styrofoam... both pieces came in 1 box and i picked up the box and thought the seller sent an empty box lol

 

[Justjoshinya]

Hmmm, sounds odd red oak is actually a pretty dense wood. I'd still quarantine the wood in a tub of water it will probably need a week to sink either way if it's that light. I'd leave it a month in water changing every few days. After a month I'd say what will "rot" will have done so and what is left should be mostly dense core wood. Be sure to scrub the wood before changing the water each time, see if the wood sheds its layers easily or not. If it sheds inner layers easily it may rot a lot sooner than later but I think it will be fine in your aquarium after its cured.