How long does it take driftwood to sink?

[frollo]

On vacation this summer I picked up a 3.5 foot piece of driftwood. After I sterilized it, I put it in my tank weighted down with rocks in a plastic bags which are tied to the driftwood. (I didn't mount it on slate because I wasn't sure how I wanted it positioned in the tank.) It's been there for 2 months and the wood is still very bouyant. Is there such a thing as wood that refuses to get water logged?

[BigDaddy]

Depending on how dense the wood is, the temp of your tank water, etc...

Unless there is a sap or resin that is acting to keep the wood waterproof....

Do you know what type of tree it was?

[frollo]

Aquarium temp is about 76F.
The wood was picked up by a lake shore of a mixed forested area.
I suspect the wood is some type of hardwood because eventhough it was nicely weathered to a whitish grey, it was quite dense.

[rockgarden]

For what it is worth, I have a large piece of driftwood in one of my tanks. It came from an established tank where it had been positioned vertically and screwed to a large peice of slate for over a year.  Even though it was only out of water for a week or so, it took almost two months before it was re-waterlogged and stayed horizontal on the bottom without the slate to hold it down.

You might want to try putting your piece in really hot water for awhile.  That will drive some of the air bubbles out of the wood but might not do a whole lot in the long run.

Ron

[Nelson]

I have a piece of aged common wood that I've had in a tank for about a year and it will still float if I remove the rock that's holding it down.

I use a lot of moponi which is as dense as stone, and it readily sinks to the bottom without any help. Based on the way dense moponi reacts, you would think that maple, ash and oak would also sink with very little help and a less dense wood, like aged pine for example, would be saturated to the core faster, making it less bouyant - but that's not the case it seems.

[frollo]

The piece only fits in the bathtub, so the hot water won't stay hot long enough to make it effective. Also downside, only one bathtub. It was a real pain when I was sterilizing it because I had to take it out everytime someone showered. I guess, it means I will be looking at my plastic bagged rocks for awhile still

[AQUAFREAK]

I have heard that adding salt to your water mixture will help speed up the process.  I have tried it and it only took 3 weeks for mine to finally sink.

Good luck

[darkdep]

Drill out the middle and fill it with rocks.