Driftwood

[Dmen1]

How do you put driftwood in a tank

 

[mfdrookie516]

As in placement in a tank or steps before you put it in a tank?

 

[Dmen1]

Steps before you put in a tank

 

[zach_1_6]

well you open the tank lid and put the wood in... haha just playing, the wood will most likely leach out tannings and turn your water a yellowy brown color, you could leave it like that or: soak the wood until the tanning are gone, or boil the piece until the tannings stop. if the wood floats tie it down or weigh it down with a rock or somthing.

 

[zach_1_6]

sorry mfdrookie posted while i was typing**

 

[mfdrookie516]

That really depends on where its coming from. I like to run mine through the dishwasher without soap first, if it's small enough. If you don't want tannins to leech in to the tank, you may have to soak it first. Some driftwood takes a while to sink, some never sinks at all. That's something else you'll have to figure out... it may need tied down for a while.

 

[Dmen1]

Where do I get driftwood can I get some from the ocean or do I have to buy it

 

[mfdrookie516]

i wouldn't want to get it from the ocean, for many reasons (salt, pollution, etc). some people get it from local streams and lakes, but you still have to be cautious of pollution. really, its not that expensive. www.thedriftwoodstore.com seems to come highly recommended.

 

[aquabeast]

i soaked mine for a month in a rubbermaid container, that thing didnt sink for almost 2 months.

 

[beepboop]

I soaked mine in water with lye until it stopped leaching. Then I soaked it several more times until the ph came down to 7. Then I put it in the tank and put sand above the slate bottom it had. If you don't have a slate bottom on your driftwood, then just put it wherever you want.

 

[Homedog98]

Some people put it in the toilet tank... Then just boil the heck out of it.

 

[Shadowraven]

I soaked mine in water with lye until it stopped leaching. Then I soaked it several more times until the ph came down to 7. Then I put it in the tank and put sand above the slate bottom it had. If you don't have a slate bottom on your driftwood, then just put it wherever you want.

That doesn't sound real safe for an aquarium. Lye is very caustic stuff. I get the opposites thing you are doing here, neutralize an acid with an alkali, but still...

I would think that it would take an awful lot of soakings to get all the lye out. It would seem to be easier to me to just keep soaking the wood to get the tannins out of it.

You say that you have tried this before and had no trouble as a result of it?

 

[Fishies86]

How long does it take for all the tannins to soak out?

 

[Shadowraven]

How long does it take for all the tannins to soak out?

That depends on how much tannin is in the wood. It might take a few days or a few weeks.

 

[BfishLpond78]

When i first got my Malaysian Driftwood i boiled it for about 2 to 3 hours changing the water every 20-30mins, it has been soaking in a 5 gallon bucket for about 2 weeks now and i change the water every couple of days, it is beginning to clear up. I've heard many people like the look of the "tea-ish" tinted water as it adds more of a natural look to the water. I'm going to continue to soak it for as long as I can wait, I may be getting a new apartment and I don't want to completely go nuts setting up my 55 gal. to have to break it all down again.

I may let it soak for another couple weeks, try the dishwater trick and boil it again, i'm a fan of the clear water so we shall see, I will keep you updated.

 

[Amicus]

I like to by root wood, like Mopani, it sinks right away so there's no need to use weights. The look is different than driftwood though. The first pieces I bought were not Mopani, they were still from South Africa and they did not leach any tannins. I cannot remember the name but will post when I find out. Due to civil unrest there it is almost impossible to no find. I then bought two pieces of Mopani. The first spans the entire length of my tank and did not leach any tannins. The second was another story and I boiled in may times until you could not see the water and then put it in the tank. The tannins started the next day, but the tannins are good for the tank and the fish and they go away. The bootom line, IMO, is that root wood is the way to go, if you search there are some pretty cool pieces out there and no weighing down. Boil it and the amount of time for tannins to expire is shortened considerably. With the root wood it is also easier to fit the pieces together to create cool labyrinths in your tank, IMO.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Iagree with Amicus.
I just added a south african root to my tank, looks great, the fish swim up, down, and around all happy, and almost not leach. The root is prewtty dense wood, so sinks by itself with no problem.

 

[Fdsh5]

+2 on the root wood. I use in most of my tanks. I just like the looks of it. It almost looks like burled wood.

 

[Fishies86]

So is mopani wood the root?

 

[Amicus]

Yes it is.