New driftwood question

[Chiapet29]

I cut a branch off a tree recently, My question is how long till it cures & would be safe to place in my tank, I know the wood has to be completely dried out then soaked to become water logged, I was thinking about 3 months, just wanted to know for sure & get another opinion, thx

 

[fisheatfish]

Do you know what kind of tree it came from? It shouldn't have a bark. To expedite the process, you can cure it in the oven...caution, I'd set it at 225F...constantly watching the process. Afterwards, soak, soak, soak with plenty of boiling water. No guarantee it will be water logged (sink). Quite a bit of work.

 

[duanes]

Agree with fisheatfish, it depends on the type wood.
Many tropical, dense, heavy woods sink rather quickly.
I have had some species not sink after years of soaking, even after weighting them down with heavy rocks.

 

[Chiapet29]

Do you know what kind of tree it came from? It shouldn't have a bark. To expedite the process, you can cure it in the oven...caution, I'd set it at 225F...constantly watching the process. Afterwards, soak, soak, soak with plenty of boiling water. No guarantee it will be water logged (sink). Quite a bit of work.

It came off of a berry tree, the wood should be safe the tree was never sprayed with pesticides, their is very little bark on it, I have it sitting in the sun for now, I don't think it will take that long to dry, the thickessed part of the branch is roughly about 2"

 

[Athletic_Amph]

what I've always done with branches from outside is:
sand down any sharp spots
boil them for 30-45 min
-which usually turns in to an hour or two, bc the branches I select don't fit perfectly in the pot so I'm constantly turning them around or flipping them to boil as much as possible - making sure to cover as much of the pot as possible to keep the steam in
then wrap them in tinfoil and throw them in the oven as stated above

I usually set it at 250* F, but I wouldn't go any higher than that. Let it sit in the oven for a couple hours and you'll be all set to dump in the tank

 

[MrsE88]

what I've always done with branches from outside is:
sand down any sharp spots
boil them for 30-45 min
-which usually turns in to an hour or two, bc the branches I select don't fit perfectly in the pot so I'm constantly turning them around or flipping them to boil as much as possible - making sure to cover as much of the pot as possible to keep the steam in
then wrap them in tinfoil and throw them in the oven as stated above

I usually set it at 250* F, but I wouldn't go any higher than that. Let it sit in the oven for a couple hours and you'll be all set to dump in the tank

What is the purpose of wrapping it in tinfoil? Is it to steam it more as the water evaporates?

 

[Athletic_Amph]

What is the purpose of wrapping it in tinfoil? Is it to steam it more as the water evaporates?

That, and I was led to believe that it helps prevent the wood from catching on fire... as I've read many stories of people curing their drift wood in an oven with too high temps and it going up in flames. I could be wrong, but low temps for a prolonged period of time, and a little tinfoil haven't steered me wrong yet! lol

 

[MrsE88]

That, and I was led to believe that it helps prevent the wood from catching on fire... as I've read many stories of people curing their drift wood in an oven with too high temps and it going up in flames. I could be wrong, but low temps for a prolonged period of time, and a little tinfoil haven't steered me wrong yet! lol

Haha! I was wondering if the wood could catch fire in the oven. It makes sense wrapping it up would keep that from happening.
I've only added drift wood once. I boiled it for an hour was all before adding it to the tank. It was store bought wood.
I have some wood currently soaking in my pond I plan to treat and then add to my tank once I'm ready to rescape.
Problem is its way to big to boil in my biggest pot and too big for the oven:/ Any advice on what to do?

 

[Athletic_Amph]

Problem is its way to big to boil in my biggest pot and too big for the oven:/ Any advice on what to do?

when I ran in to that issue, I stuck the drift wood in a spare 55g tank that it fit in and just kept boiling up water and pouring it in lol then I'd let it soak overnight, drain it and start over again

 

[MrsE88]

when I ran in to that issue, I stuck the drift wood in a spare 55g tank that it fit in and just kept boiling up water and pouring it in lol then I'd let it soak overnight, drain it and start over again

Awesome. I'll try that then. I figured my only other option would be cutting the wood in smaller pieces. And I really don't want to do that and loose the natural look of it. You know?