Using wood.

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C

Clammie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 31, 2010
56
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United Kingdom
I went to the beach yesterday and found myself 3 big pieces of driftwood for my 5 foot tank.

How would I go about cleaning them properly?
I can't soak them (I don't own a bath tub, just a shower).
 
Big bins or new/very clean trash cans. Anything you can change the water out everyday to pull all the salt and toxins out of it.
 
Spraying them off with a hose or power washer will remove the physical debris...

Soaking in a salt bath will help cure the wood... a high salt content will also kill algae, bacteria, parasites and other microrganisms.

Soaking in hot water over a period of time, doing water changes as frequent as possible, will encourage the tannins to leach out.

I think it would be worth the cost of a new (clean) garbage can to give your wood a warm salt bath. If it's bigger than a large garbage can then congrats at finding a tank big enough to house wood bigger than a garbage can. Now be creative and fid a bin to soak it in :P
 
Thanks again for th replies!
I'll change the water whenever it cools down.
How hot should it be? I got it to just over 40 degrees celsius, but no hotter.
How long approx do you think it will take before it's ready/sinking?
 
Is there salt in the water?
 
Lots :P

Make it so it is a little saltier than salt water. If you happen to have a hydrometer you can measure the salinity, but if you had that equipment I doubt you'd be asking "how much".

You cannot add "to much", although at some point the water will reach a saturation point and additional salt will not dissolve. But it won't hurt anything.

So again, just add lots :P It's cheap...
 
Oh, and you might as well add fresh water before you add salt.

Is the water turning tea colored?

Also feel free to make the water as hot as you like. I don't perosnally like boiling it, as the boiling action can break down the wood. But many people do. Very hot water will only help remove the tannins (which is what makes the water tea colored).
 
I changed the water this morning and added as much salt as possible to it.
Now I need to go and buy more salt :p.
It had leached slightly by this morning but not too much.
It still seems to be floating quite a bit though.
 
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