How do I prep dead manzanita for driftwood

[FJB]

Do not worry. don't do anything other than placing in the tank, and weigh it until it sinks.
Best doing in a new tank, without fish yet, turn filters on and leave it several days. Some woods produc e more fuzzy stuff at first, but all is harmless, just vacuum it as needed. Fish best i introduced slowly.
In an established tank, introduce it the same, and watch for needed vacuuming for the fuzzy and don't worry about it.
You may see some staining of the water, but that is good, and goes away with water changes.

 

[Denon]

Just be careful if you got any chainsaw oil or anything on it to be sure it is gone before it goes in the tank. Last time I got some branches from a friend he had just oiled his chainsaw, so it took a couple of buckets and days of soaking before there wasn't an oil sheen on top of the water anymore.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Just be careful if you got any chainsaw oil or anything on it to be sure it is gone before it goes in the tank. Last time I got some branches from a friend he had just oiled his chainsaw, so it took a couple of buckets and days of soaking before there wasn't an oil sheen on top of the water anymore.

I used a hand-held saw. Thanks!

I think I will try to get the lichen and bark off today. Perhaps put it in tomorrow.

Also, my tank has a piece of glass in the middle, probably 1/3 of the tank size. It’s under the black plastic lip, so I need to get the silicon off. How do I do this without breaking anything or contaminating the water?

 

[Rocksor]

I used a hand-held saw. Thanks!

I think I will try to get the lichen and bark off today. Perhaps put it in tomorrow.

Also, my tank has a piece of glass in the middle, probably 1/3 of the tank size. It’s under the black plastic lip, so I need to get the silicon off. How do I do this without breaking anything or contaminating the water?

With a glass in the middle, it sounds like that's a structural piece that needs to be put back on after removing. You should drain the tank so that the piece can be put back on properly, allowing a 1-2 week cure of the silicone (tank is drained during this time frame).

Ask the person you got the tank from if the tank came that way when bought new or it was added afterwards.

Or just don't mess with that middle glass piece and figure out how to get the wood in there without removing it.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

It doesn’t serve any structural support. C chrisngo

 

[fishguy1978]

That glass is the center brace and should not be removed. My running 55g and my in pieces 90g have a glass center.
As for the wood just drop it in a tank. If you have plecos in the tank even better. They will help scour the wood. You could try to find Panaqolus maccus (L104) or L448 which are wood eating and wood love to eat the bark of those pieces.

 

[jjohnwm]

It doesn’t serve any structural support. C chrisngo

That seems unlikely. Why on earth would anyone bother to install such a piece, and then put up with the inconvenience of having it constantly in the way, if not for structural support? Tanks today are made of much thinner, flimsier glass than in the old days; seems like just about any tank has, and probably needs, a center support.

I would definitely leave it in place; and I wouldn't even consider the notion of removing it just to get a dang chunk of wood into the tank. Cut or break the wood, not the tank! The center brace is actually useful to help hold the wood underwater while it waterlogs.

I wouldn't personally worry about the bark and/or lichen. If California-surfer-dude lichen is anything like Canuckistani lichen, it is easily removed just by rubbing with your hand, using a power washer, etc. Bark? If it bothers you it should come off pretty easily after the wood's been underwater for awhile.

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

Yeah take a tank picture of that glass was this used as a sump? Buffer? Why is the glass there?

 

[chrisngo]

I've gotta agree to NOT remove it. Even if you take it off and put it back, that's sketchy.

Also, the brace was there when I originally bought the tank.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

I've gotta agree to NOT remove it. Even if you take it off and put it back, that's sketchy.

Also, the brace was there when I originally bought the tank.

FYI this is the guy who I bought the tank from.

I guessI will try to get the whole thing in. If not, I’ll cut it into smaller pieces. The driftwoods been in a bathtub for a week, and A few pieces have sunk.