Had a bit of luck today...

[NixMix]

Hey guys. Just wanted to say that I happened upon an LFS closing/liquidating today. Even though they were an all-marine store, I did happen to grab a few things for a major steal...

Caribsea sand for $0.70/lb! They only had one color I wanted otherwise I would've grabbed more. Either way... I'm a happy camper!

And on top of that I even went driftwood hunting and found a lot of really cool roots/branches to clean up, sand down, sink. Speaking of, what is the best way to sterilize the driftwood? It's way too big to boil....

 

[aclockworkorange]

Do a search for DIY driftwood. Basically the most recommended technique is to soak it in salt water for a couple weeks.

 

[David K. Bradley]

That's what I have always done in the past, too. ACWO is right once again. Good call.

 

[nomad]

Do a search for DIY driftwood. Basically the most recommended technique is to soak it in salt water for a couple weeks.

not if you have fish that don't do well with salt.....such a tigrinus, plecos, etc

 

[NixMix]

not if you have fish that don't do well with salt.....such a tigrinus, plecos, etc

I already salt the water in my tanks and they're all happy with it. My plecos don't have any issues with it.

 

[NixMix]

Do a search for DIY driftwood. Basically the most recommended technique is to soak it in salt water for a couple weeks.

Thanks for the idea. I searched for that thread and found it. I'm fairly certain the wood I found is birch...should that be ok?

Also the thread said to soak in salt water and then bake it....what do you recommend? Have you had any issues with just saltwater soaking your DW? Time isn't a huge issue here because I'm waiting until after the holidays to switch over to a sand substrate and new DW.