Cleaning driftwood and rocks question

[Paxdaddy]

So... I've been boiling my driftwood. I've noticed that it floats... Cause it's wood. So how am I supposed to get it to stay on the bottom of my aquarium?

What I've seen a lot of people do is glue it to a rock to keep it down. I thing if you even tie it to something heavy enough to hold it under it will eventually get saturated enough to sink.

 

[Wilkes]

I tend to weigh my wood down with stones/rocks until it has fully absorbed the water, then it will sit nicely on the bottom on its own

 

[2happyfish]

I love that odd swirly shaped piece. I want to try this! Next time we are camping I'm collecting some pieces.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I love that odd swirly shaped piece. I want to try this! Next time we are camping I'm collecting some pieces.

I love it too. I wonder what made it the shape that it is. Very cool and definitely a one of a kind piece! It's been fun learning how to do this. Boiling it is taking forever though. I'm still waiting for the water to stop turning brown. Soaking it til it sinks is going to take forever too!!

I hope you find some good pieces the next time you go camping!

 

[Wilkes]

I love it too. I wonder what made it the shape that it is. Very cool and definitely a one of a kind piece! It's been fun learning how to do this. Boiling it is taking forever though. I'm still waiting for the water to stop turning brown. Soaking it til it sinks is going to take forever too!!

I hope you find some good pieces the next time you go camping!

It won't take too long you won't even notice just weigh it down in the tank

 

[2happyfish]

Is it OK to use use sea glass collected on the the beach in a fresh water tank? I have some small pieces and was thinking of looking for some more.

 

[khartig]

I boiled the pebbles for the tank- no problem there. Now you've scared me of boiling the lava rock when I get one. If I can't boil it how should I clean it? Maybe I can find one for sale at a fish store....

Sorry about scaring you in my first post. It wasn't my intention. I only wanted to warn you. Pebbles are normally safe to boil as they are made from sand that has been compacted over the course of centuries and have a lot less air pockets. Lava is created from sand and rock that has been churned up from the earth's core, it's the churning motion that creates the air pockets. I think to best clean the lava would be to do a series of hot water soaks. Use a large bucket and fill it with hot water and soak for a few minutes at a time, repeat about 5 or 6 times. This will allow the hot water to work it's way into the nooks and crannies but not allow the rock itself to get hot enough to cause problems.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Is it OK to use use sea glass collected on the the beach in a fresh water tank? I have some small pieces and was thinking of looking for some more.

I have no idea! Sometimes old glass has lead in it. I hope someone else knows and that it is safe because it would be really pretty.

 

[2happyfish]

I was wondering if you would treat it just like a nonporous rock. I guess it's just one more thing to research, lol.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I was wondering if you would treat it just like a nonporous rock. I guess it's just one more thing to research, lol.

I would treat it that way. I just don't know if it will leak lead into the water.

 

[Wilkes]

Wouldn't it be like Having lead plant weights in your aquarium?

 

[Bearchumjs]

Wouldn't it be like Having lead plant weights in your aquarium?

I didn't know about lead plant weights. So maybe it won't be a problem if there is lead in the glass? I really have no idea.

 

[2happyfish]

Wouldn't it be like Having lead plant weights in your aquarium?

What are you referring to?

 

[Wilkes]

Some Lfs still sell bunches of plants with a flat piece of rolled up lead holding the plants together at the root... Also holds the plant down to stop it floating

 

[2happyfish]

Some Lfs still sell bunches of plants with a flat piece of rolled up lead holding the plants together at the root... Also holds the plant down to stop it floating

That's good to know!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Some Lfs still sell bunches of plants with a flat piece of rolled up lead holding the plants together at the root... Also holds the plant down to stop it floating

Oh! That metal thing! I didn't know it was lead. Well in that case I imagine sea glass would be fine.

 

[Wilkes]

Well unless it changes from place to place but mine has always been lead. I used to keep them they come in very handy

 

[Carole2]

I've just added some lovely driftwood to my upgrade tank. It's a mixture of light and dark swirling colours. Have a look at my photos in my profile.