How to prepare driftwood?

[renadia]

I have a nice piece of driftwood in my garden that I would like to use in my 75 g.
I have not used chemicals. What do I do on top of rinsing it prior to adding it in my tank?

I have also bought a piece of driftwood at the auction, do I need to do anything to it before I add that one? I would not like to have what happened to Pink Punisher happen. I feel sorry he lost his fish like that

[MikeM]

If you can fit it into a big pot, boiling it is probably the easiest way to make sure it is sterile, you can also bake it in the oven for a few hours.  That will eliminate any bacteria, etc.  For fresh wood from a garden, you will probably need to soak it for a week or so, if not more, so it will sink, and to allow it to leech out the lion's share of the tannins.  I don't think it has to sink before you put it in the tank, so long as it is sterile, it is safe to anchor it down.  Be aware that "fresh" wood, just out of the garden, will be very high in tannins, and can really effect your water pH if you don't soak it first.

For the wood that's been in a tank already, you should be able to just boil or bake, it won't need a soak.

[renadia]

If you can fit it into a big pot, boiling it is probably the easiest way to make sure it is sterile, you can also bake it in the oven for a few hours.  That will eliminate any bacteria, etc.  For fresh wood from a garden, you will probably need to soak it for a week or so, if not more, so it will sink, and to allow it to leech out the lion's share of the tannins.  I don't think it has to sink before you put it in the tank, so long as it is sterile, it is safe to anchor it down.  Be aware that "fresh" wood, just out of the garden, will be very high in tannins, and can really effect your water pH if you don't soak it first.

For the wood that's been in a tank already, you should be able to just boil or bake, it won't need a soak.

It's an old piece of very dry wood liek the type you can pick up along the river. It's to big to boil, how long should it bake and at what degree?

[Pink Punisher]

Thanks for the kind words, The only thing good that came out of that was that the bichir lived and i learned a VALUBLE lesson on driftwood...if he hadn't made it i would have lost around $137 in fish alone luckily it is only $67, yea i know i got majorly ripped off on the bichir. Sorry for rambling like that, as for your question i cant help you out i just wanted to say thanks for the kind words, also if anyone would like to see what happened to me look for the post entitled " NOOOOO!!!!!! " i forget the exact number of O's and !'s but it should be easy to find.

Spencer

[MikeM]

It's an old piece of very dry wood liek the type you can pick up along the river. It's to big to boil, how long should it bake and at what degree?

The lowest setting on your oven (should be around 200 F) for several hours (the longer the better, really).  For the two pieces in my 75 that I couldn't fit in the pot, I used 200 F for 3 hours, then I soaked it in a spare sink for about a week, the water turned a deep brown tea-colour and the pH of the sink dropped from 7.8 to 6.0.

Keep an eye on the wood when it's in the oven, especially if it's old, dry, and crumbly.  200 F should be below the combustion point of the wood, but some small dry pieces might ignite.  I rinsed mine off very well, removing any loose bits, then let it dry overnight before I baked it.

[Aquaviewer]

Scrubbing any loose material off the wood and examining it to ensure that there are no soft or punky sections before preparing it is a good idea.  If there are too many soft sections that can't be carved out to solid material you may want to get another piece.  These will just cause problems once in the tank.

The best wood is either dry drift wood or wood that is well air dried.  These pieces will still release moisture when baked.  When baking you want to keep it in long enough that the heat completely permeates the wood to kill everything. 

Whether you soak it and/or bake it once it has dried and cooled you can fix it to a piece of appropriate rock with aquarium silicone.  Or you would have to soak most local wood for a really long time before it will become water logged.

[renadia]

Thanks for all the information provided, me and Spencer will use it  and his bichir and my gang of fish will appreciate it!

I will be soaking and baking my pieces of dry drift wood this weekend, hope no one is too hungry around here  

Diane

[Toss]

If you will bake the wood after soaking it, watch for three things:
- Digital oven might have a problem with excessive steam or moisture coming from the wood.
- the wood might still leach some tree sap, cover the bottom of your oven with tin foil.
- It generate odour that your family might not like.

good luck

[jgolden]

If you're rural (like I'm fortunate enough to be), I soaked the 2 pieces of driftwood I found along lake Ontario in salt water for 2 weeks in a big ol' washtub. Then I moved that washtub over the fire pit and boiled the water for 5 hours. 1 piece has been in the tank for 18 months with no mishap. (If I remember, I plan on bringing the sister piece - which has been sitting on a shelf this whole time - to the October auction).