Right now I have the cheap fake plants in my tank which I want to be replacing with a large piece of driftwood. How should I go about acquiring one. I was wondering if I find a dead branch that I would like around a lake or something would I able to boil it and toss it in my tank? And would you be able to boil (or close to) the wood in a hot tub then soak it in a tub with water to get chemicals off.
Driftwood
- Thread starter sprntswimm86
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Anything goes as far as you can kill off all the living organisms - bacteria, fungi etc. I'm actually not sure if boiling would be sufficient. The proper way is to bake it for several hours, which is hard to do with a large piece.
You have to be careful what kind of tree its from, pine is toxic to fish. I think I've heard birch leaches toxins too, I have used oak, I screwed it (stainless steel)to a piece of plastic and burried it in the gravel. I put that in right away, a wierd black fur grew on it in spots for about a year, but it never harmed the fish.
two years ago I found a nice piece in the woods next to my house when the snow melted, I let it soak in a kiddie pool all summer with a few water changes. it still leached tannins (?spelling) for about a year. between snails and my pleco the soft stuff has all been removed.
The oak is the one on the right
two years ago I found a nice piece in the woods next to my house when the snow melted, I let it soak in a kiddie pool all summer with a few water changes. it still leached tannins (?spelling) for about a year. between snails and my pleco the soft stuff has all been removed.
The oak is the one on the right
Ah yes, forgot about the wood itself... no cedar, pine or anything that releases oil into water. Soak it in water until the tea color is gone (I did it in a bathtub for a few weeks).actually boiling a stick is the best way to kill off bacteria because the water penetrates into the wood. as long as the water is over 100*c you wont have any bacteria left in the wood. however i dont know how necessary it is to boil the wood because if it has been out of the water for long enough then any living organism inside the wood would require air to breath and once you put the wood in the water the organism no longer has a sustainable source of oxygen and will die off. thats just my thoughts tho and dont know how true it is. i found a big ol' stump at a river and all i did was pressure wash it to get the junk off it. its been in my tank for like 4 months now and ive had no problems.
So no cedar pine or birch, cook it if I can in oven for couple hours and if not attempt to boil it. Then let it soak for several days in a tub of some sort. Like the idea of screwing it to a base. If you have a driftwood tank can we see those pictures so I can get ideas on how to arrange it.
most people get Malaysian driftwood. you can get it at most LFS or search for rock source store one ebay. they usually have nice stuff, they havnt put new stuff online since thanksgiving. i actually have a new piece for my 125g coming in the mail tomorrow. they pre-boil it but i still do it anyways. boiling helps leech out tannins. its not harmful but will give your tank a tea color. i may not boil this piece too much to see how the colors looks. boiling also helps it sink
malaysian driftwood is usually very heavy, i have never had a problem making it sink,
but i do soak it for a week or so in large rubbermaid tubs and change water everyday to take out some of the tannins, although you will mostlikly never get rid of them all.
personally i dont mind the tea water, it makes things a little more natural looking, although i know alot of people hate it.
some people say that the tannins are actually pretty good for your fish, im also pretty sure there is a few threads about that on this site.
but i do soak it for a week or so in large rubbermaid tubs and change water everyday to take out some of the tannins, although you will mostlikly never get rid of them all.
personally i dont mind the tea water, it makes things a little more natural looking, although i know alot of people hate it.
some people say that the tannins are actually pretty good for your fish, im also pretty sure there is a few threads about that on this site.