Driftwood question-

[woof99]

Hi guys!
I went to Victoria a few weeks ago and brought back a few pieces of driftwood from the beach.  Could I use these in my SW tank?  Should I do anything to them before I do, like boiling?

Thanks

[BigDaddy]

Driftwood has a tendancy to lower pH unless it is very, very old driftwood.  Usually not a good thing in a SW tank.

[washefuzzy]

how about fresh water, i too brought a piece back with me when I went out to B.C. this summer?

[woof99]

Thanks BigDaddy, but I am a bit of a nounoune    I meant to say in a FW tank, my Goldfish wouldn't like SW too much!!

[beowulf]

I would check your pH and see what your goldies like and I would also clean it well before adding it to any tank.

[sas]

Personally I'd be leery about adding an unknown piece of wood to any of my tanks. Too many variables for me, but then I'm a relative noob at this too.
       Questions I'd want answered would be type of wood, how long has it been in the water, whats growing on it and also in it and more importantly being a porous material what has it absorbed during it's stint in the water. Too risky for my needs.Just my thoughts .

[BigDaddy]

redbelly brought me back a large piece from Georgian Bay I believe.  I baked it for 30 mins, and it has been in my discus tank ever since.

The big problem with wood from the beech is that it likely wound up there because it didn't get thoroughly waterlogged and sink.  You may be floating it for quite some time before it gets sufficiently waterlogged.  My piece floated for 3 months before it finally became neutrally boyant.

[dan2x38]

Toss a member here showed me a piece in his tank that he treated maybe send him a PM... it is a nice piece...!

[fischkopp]

I baked it for 30 mins, and it has been in my discus tank ever since.

do you mean real baking in the oven at lets say 250°C ? I am just curious as I want to use normal wood in the future too. Don't people mostly boil the wood piece for a couple of hours and/or let it sit in a big water bin for a couple of months so that all maybe existing chemicals can leak out?

[BigDaddy]

do you mean real baking in the oven at lets say 250°C ? I am just curious as I want to use normal wood in the future too. Don't people mostly boil the wood piece for a couple of hours and/or let it sit in a big water bin for a couple of months so that all maybe existing chemicals can leak out?

Yeah, I actually baked it at 500 degrees.  I didn't have a pot big enough to boil it in, so I figured few if any organisms would survive a 500 degree oven for half an hour.

[dan2x38]

would the driftwood have a high salt content? if it was aged well would it affect the pH still?