Making my own driftwood! Help!

[xTylerLairx]

Okay so I recently found some pretty pieces of drift and demand they are in my tank. But I don't know how to clean an prepare them! Can someone help me on the best, easiest, or fastest way(s) to do this?


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[COG Commando]

Boil or bake them

 

[xTylerLairx]

Any more details? I have big pieces so boiling I can't do


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[petspoiler]

what I do is put them in a big plastic trash can and pour the hottest water I can get in there. weigh em down, if they float, & change the hot water & scrub every day until it's like I want it.
if there's no guests here needing my xtra shower, I set the can right under the faucet to fill hot water easy..

 

[sashimimaster]

steam cleaner

 

[xTylerLairx]

What temperature should I bake them at and for how long. And to get them to submerge I am just goin to weight them down in my tank


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[Adam Bunch]

Will hot water, a number of times, do the trick? There is nothing else to do? I have some large pieces i am going to put in my 225 tank, too big for the oven. I want to make sure they are free of anything harmful before i put them in.

 

[gilpi]

Not an expert on driftwood but I can share what has worked for me in the past... first of all make sure the wood is old and hard, I have found pieces that have turned soft within a couple of days in water and you definitely do not want to be bother with that. Once I have found the "right" piece, I pressure wash it well and put it in the oven on a low temperature just enough for it to get very warm but being careful not to burn it with too much heat and bake it for about 2-3 hours. I then I dunk it in a bucket full of water for a few days to see how it reacts to being submerged, check to see if it stays hard, also you might want to change the water every couple of days, I do this for about a week or two or more till it stops releasing its tannins and its pretty good to go after that.
Hope this helps

 

[Adam Bunch]

So do you think that hot water in a bucket or tub would be a suitable substitute for an oven, these pieces are way too big for my ovens.

 

[johnd651]

i have always preferred the boiling water trick. for the big pieces I would borrow a neighbors outdoor propane setup with his huge 20 gallon beer pot. the oven thing scares me... i always feel like i will forget or get it to hot... and when that happens, wood catches fire