Drift wood

[Mike4242]

Hey everybody! I just got a new piece of driftwood that was out in a garden. How would I go about getting it ready to put into my tank?

 

[Scouser]

Hmm if it's been sat out I would start by boiling the bejeezus out of it.

Are you sure it's DW and not just wood?

The wood may still be alive so to speak and this will rot and grow fungus I believe...

 

[Mike4242]

Didn't attach. And a better pic

 

[Scouser]

Didn't attach.

Looks pretty dirty, a boil will help kill all the bugs and unwanted nasties.

I'd say a few boil cycles should be more than enough to ready it, but I buy my DW from a LFS so I'm not too experienced in the prep.

 

[BBradbury]

Hey everybody! I just got a new piece of driftwood that was out in a garden. How would I go about getting it ready to put into my tank?

Hello Mike...

Depending on the size of the piece and the temperature outside where you live you could hose it down real well with the pressure nozzle and let it dry in your garage. If the piece is smaller and can fit in a dishwasher, then take it inside and rinse it off with the sink spray nozzle real well and then into the dishwasher, no soap of course. The dishwasher temp gets around 180 degrees and that should be enough to kill any unwanted bacteria.

I have a lot of driftwood pieces in my tanks from the local river and pond beds. The local pieces are much nicer than the LFS stuff and the price is better too. I have pieces I attached plants to and floated or weighed them down with rocks.

B

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Nice!
I agree with the dishwasher idea. Works well. One thing to be aware of is if they used poisons in the garden and the woods come into contact with it.

 

[Mike4242]

Finally put it in, what do you think?

 

[savage]

That's awesome! Did you go with the dishwasher? How much cleaning did it take?

 

[Mike4242]

That's awesome! Did you go with the dishwasher? How much cleaning did it take?

I ran it through the dish washer twice let it dry and then sent it trough again. It seems fine.