Preparing large driftwood

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BugFreak72

Exodon
MFK Member
Jan 2, 2017
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I recently picked up a 3 foot piece of driftwood for my 200g from my lfs and was wondering about preparing it for the tank. It has been soaking in a large trashcan for about 2 weeks now to get the tannins out and I plan to leave it in there another week or two depending on water color.

I've read everything from boiling it to soaking it in bleach to make sure nothing is still living in there. My problem is that its so big I can't boil it because of the size and bleach scares me in case some makes it into my tank. The piece is about 7" thick at the base so it has plenty of space to retain anything it soaks in. Should I worry about doing anything else other than soaking it?
 
You can add bleach to the trash can. I'm not sure on the best concentration. The thing with bleach is that it is basically chlorine, so you can neutralize it with water dechlorinator. I would add some bleach to the water in the trash can, let it soak for a day or so, then dump the water out and rinse it well with the hose while filling the trash can back up. Then, add a double dose of dechlorinator to the new water, let it soak for another day and then put it in the tank.

I've never done this with anything this size, but it's what I would do if I had it.
 
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Fish Tank Travis said:
You can add bleach to the trash can. I'm not sure on the best concentration. The thing with bleach is that it is basically chlorine, so you can neutralize it with water dechlorinator. I would add some bleach to the water in the trash can, let it soak for a day or so, then dump the water out and rinse it well with the hose while filling the trash can back up. Then, add a double dose of dechlorinator to the new water, let it soak for another day and then put it in the tank.

I've never done this with anything this size, but it's what I would do if I had it.
Click to expand...
Exactly this ^^^^^

Unscented plain ol' regular Bleach should be mixed 10% to 90% water , let it soak 24 hours, then rinse it for a good 5 minutes or so outside the trashcan, and then go ahead and put it in the trash can and fill it with water and dechlorinator
 
If you are unhappy with bleach, you can use salt as well, make it a fairly strong solution, soak in fresh water afterwards. I've found the best way to clean large driftwood is with a power washer.
 
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