# Drift wood



## craigp (May 28, 2012)

i know you can boil drift wood to get it ready for the tank, but how exactly do you do it and what steps do i need to take? is the same thing done for river stone?


----------



## bigcountry10 (Sep 24, 2011)

not to sure about the drift wood, but for stone all you need to really do is check and see if it will alter your PH. You can do this by pouring a little white vinegar on the rock, if it starts to fizz and react you might not want to use it because it can increase the PH of your water. if it dosent react then i would say boil it for about 20 minutes to sterilize it, from any form of bacteria.


----------



## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

I boiled drift wood for about 7 hours changing the water every hour or so. I then soaked the drift wood in a 5 gallon bucket 7 days changing the water twice a day and after about the forth day it stopped floating and even after a week it still leached a small amount of tannins and took about 2 weeks before my tanked didn't have the light brown hue to it.


----------



## craigp (May 28, 2012)

Galvatron898 said:


> I boiled drift wood for about 7 hours changing the water every hour or so. I then soaked the drift wood in a 5 gallon bucket 7 days changing the water twice a day and after about the forth day it stopped floating and even after a week it still leached a small amount of tannins and took about 2 weeks before my tanked didn't have the light brown hue to it.



how do u know when ur done?


----------



## FryBaby (Jul 6, 2012)

I don't have a big enough pot to boil the driftwood I want in my tank. Seems excessive to boil it for days on end, I wouldn't think organisms could live thru a dip in boiling water for a few minutes. I need an big old tank to soak the wood in.


----------



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

craigp said:


> i know you can boil drift wood to get it ready for the tank, but how exactly do you do it and what steps do i need to take? is the same thing done for river stone?


Hello craig...

You don't have to go to the trouble of boiling the driftwood. Just take the piece out into your yard and rinse it off well with the pressure nozzle attached to your garden hose. Then, leave it outside for a day or two. This time of year the sun will sterilize it. 

Pretty simple, really.

B


----------



## JustinBarley (Jan 13, 2011)

BBradbury said:


> Hello craig...
> 
> You don't have to go to the trouble of boiling the driftwood. Just take the piece out into your yard and rinse it off well with the pressure nozzle attached to your garden hose. Then, leave it outside for a day or two. This time of year the sun will sterilize it.
> 
> ...


Have you tried that? I'd hate to do it and have my fish die...


----------



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

JustinBarley said:


> Have you tried that? I'd hate to do it and have my fish die...


Hello JB...

I wouldn't suggest it if I hadn't tried it first. Of course I live in Colorado and this time of year, the sun gets pretty intense. I get my tank pieces from the local riverbeds and the further you go from the water, the drier the piece. I just rinse thoroughly, and set the piece out in my driveway on the hot concrete. The sun bakes the piece dry in a couple of days. Any bacteria that may have been on the wood is killed by the sun's rays. Then, it's tank ready. My tanks are full of local pieces. There's no cost and I get pieces a lot nicer than those in the store.

That's how it's done in my neck of the woods.

B


----------



## coolbeans88 (Sep 13, 2012)

i have always lightly sand blasted mine, then a rinse.


----------

