# Driftwood prep? What do I do?



## veedaub (Jun 24, 2011)

My brother and I went and found some drift wood for the aquarium today and I just gave it a quick wash with the hose and we cut it down to size so it'll fit in the tank.

I was thinking that before I put it into the tank, should I giving it a light sanding to take off all of the little pieces and make it look nicer. But as for sanitary reasons what else should I do? Maybe soak in boiling water?


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

depending on where you got it, rinse it off really good, no soaps or checmiclas of anykind, a peice that size you can boil easy enough for a few hours, then i would soak in the tube, container, change the water every 2 days to make sure your water is not turing brown, thats the tannin acid leaching out, it will not kill fish just turn the water brown, soak it long enough so that it stays under water in one place without moving, once it stays under water, try placing it the way you want it in your tank and see if stays in place, once the water stops turning brown your ready to go

i would not sand it, the natural look looks the best i think


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Nothing wrong with the water turning brown. A lot of people like the brownish colored water from tannins. It will not last but a month or two at the most with a piece that size.


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## fishman81 (Jan 12, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Nothing wrong with the water turning brown. A lot of people like the brownish colored water from tannins. It will not last but a month or two at the most with a piece that size.


i happen to have h20 w/really high ph so adding right away hasn't bothered me, in the long term though it hasn't lowered ph, just in short term. So if your trying to lower ph go with an RO unit. but if you soak it for amonth in a bucket you won't have to worry about dirty water as much


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## veedaub (Jun 24, 2011)

I got the piece on the shore of Lake Superior but it was about triple the size, my brother and I cut it down to size so it'll just fit in the tank, I was more so curious about any type of disease that might be on it as we found it on land, not in the water already.

I was thinking of washing it off in boiling water, then letting it soak till the water gets dirty, then rinse in boiling water then let soak.. and repeat this until the water stays clear.

Would this method work for making sure the wood is germ free before putting in? It's kinda what was mentioned but I read that when washing plastic plants you should soak in boiling water then rinse a few times before putting them in. Does this work on natural pieces too or would I just be wasting my time?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've heard baking the wood in the oven is another good way to sterilize it, though I would thoroughly research the flash point of the wood before you bake it. Also, lots of people wash live plants in a weak solution of potassium permangenate (sp?) to kill off any hitchhikers like snails and parasites. Boiling and soaking sounds like your safest bet, in my opinion, I'm just throwing out alternative ideas I've heard of.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Hello vee...

I've used a lot of wood and rock I picked up along the local river beds here in Colorado and never did anything but spray down the pieces with the pressure nozzle real well and then let everything sit out in the sun for a few hours.

Never boiled, used vinegar or jumped through any hoops. Just sprayed, dried and into the tank it went.

Definitely use your judgement, but the pieces you pick up locally are much nicer and cheaper than anything I've ever seen in LFS.

B


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

BBradbury said:


> Definitely use your judgement, but the pieces you pick up locally are much nicer and cheaper than anything I've ever seen in LFS.


+1


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