I found a driftwood graveyard! Norcal/East bay
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
cool, thx for the info. i know what you mean about some of it being soft to the touch. this stuff i found is really hard, looks like its been in the water for a LONG time. they just happed to all wash ashore in this spot and dry out. we'll see how it worksnc_nutcase;3416347;3416347 said:
It's common for floating items to collect in a single area due to currents... Which makes it nice because then you can be choosey about what pieces you wish to take...
Hard wood is better for a lot of reasons... Naturally it is less likely to fall apart... plus in my experience the harder the wood the less likely it is to grow ickies...
Sounds to me like you made a great find.
You might consider renting a van, hauling the stuff off and shipping some out. If you do put me on the list of potential buyers
Hard wood is better for a lot of reasons... Naturally it is less likely to fall apart... plus in my experience the harder the wood the less likely it is to grow ickies...
Sounds to me like you made a great find.
You might consider renting a van, hauling the stuff off and shipping some out. If you do put me on the list of potential buyers
If one did find local driftwood, how would one treat it for it to be safe to introduce to the tank? I'm interested in this process! My babies could use some driftwood.
nice! im hoping it wont take too long to sink. if not, ill be finding a way to anchor it downnc_nutcase;3416390;3416390 said:It's common for floating items to collect in a single area due to currents... Which makes it nice because then you can be choosey about what pieces you wish to take...
Hard wood is better for a lot of reasons... Naturally it is less likely to fall apart... plus in my experience the harder the wood the less likely it is to grow ickies...
Sounds to me like you made a great find.
You might consider renting a van, hauling the stuff off and shipping some out. If you do put me on the list of potential buyers
there are some really massive pieces. i saw an awesome root structure but i would need a chain saw to seperate it from the rest of the tree!!!!!!
Jamee;3416401; said:
Wood contains tannic acid... commonly refered to as "tannins"...
This will leach out and turn the aquariums water te colored...
The amount of tannins released from each piece of wood is likely to be different and there is no way to predict how dark a piece of wood will make the tank nor how long it will last...
The hoter the water the faster tannins are released... therefore it's generally suggested to boil wood to remove tannins the fastest...
I highly suggest adding salt to the water you boil it in to help "cure" the wood...
Both boiling and soaking in salt water will also help kill any mold, fungus, etc that lives in the wood...
Naturally you will want to "wash" the wood to get any unwanted dirt, paritcles or debris off the wood... Pressure washing is idea. If the wood cannot stand up to being pressure washed it's likely not in good enough condition to last in your aquarium.
JCardona - I have a 5' long "stick" in my 125 Gal tank that after about 7 years still will not stay on the bottom of a 6' tank...
It took it about 4 years to stop floating... and still half floats...
Being a small diameter (tapers from 1" to 2") it works out nicely... but I do hope your large pieces sink MUCH faster than my "stick" did...
)
nc_nutcase;3416475; said:Wood contains tannic acid... commonly refered to as "tannins"...
This will leach out and turn the aquariums water te colored...
The amount of tannins released from each piece of wood is likely to be different and there is no way to predict how dark a piece of wood will make the tank nor how long it will last...
The hoter the water the faster tannins are released... therefore it's generally suggested to boil wood to remove tannins the fastest...
I highly suggest adding salt to the water you boil it in to help "cure" the wood...
Both boiling and soaking in salt water will also help kill any mold, fungus, etc that lives in the wood...
Naturally you will want to "wash" the wood to get any unwanted dirt, paritcles or debris off the wood... Pressure washing is idea. If the wood cannot stand up to being pressure washed it's likely not in good enough condition to last in your aquarium.
JCardona - I have a 5' long "stick" in my 125 Gal tank that after about 7 years still will not stay on the bottom of a 6' tank...
It took it about 4 years to stop floating... and still half floats...
Being a small diameter (tapers from 1" to 2") it works out nicely... but I do hope your large pieces sink MUCH faster than my "stick" did...
Nice find, shame i'm not closer...........
Don't want to derail, but there's a beach near me with quite a lot of sea drift wood on and i've been eyeing it up for use in a tropical fresh water pond but not grabbed any because unsure if salty drift wood would be ok for this application. Does the same advice apply? would it be ok?
When wood is collected from sea water I would use the same treatment as described above with one single change... do not add salt to the water when you soak/boil it...
You will get trace amounts of salt in your freshwater tank, but trace amounts is fine. Many hobbyists add salt to their freshwater to treat or protect from illness.
If you are exceptionally concerend about geting too much salt in the water you can buy a salinity gauge (hydrometer) to monitor the salinity / salt levels in your tank. If you feel they are to high, simply do a water change to decrease them.
I highly prefer 'driftwood' collected from sea water...
You will get trace amounts of salt in your freshwater tank, but trace amounts is fine. Many hobbyists add salt to their freshwater to treat or protect from illness.
If you are exceptionally concerend about geting too much salt in the water you can buy a salinity gauge (hydrometer) to monitor the salinity / salt levels in your tank. If you feel they are to high, simply do a water change to decrease them.
I highly prefer 'driftwood' collected from sea water...
