new driftwood

[cbk.o4]

well i ordered some driftwood from Aquatic Eco-Systems, 4 pieces of malaysian. and since every says it sinks so fast, should i still boil it? or can i just add it right to the tank?

 

[dskidmore]

Boiling is a sterlization process, not just for sinking. I'd do it. I tried a salt cure on my last set of driftwood, and I still have a new variety of algae on one piece.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

yeah, i'd boil it too if it fits in a pot. if not, bet a big pot and fill it w/water and when its boiling, poor it over the wood. i think someone told me to do that like, 3 times or so.

 

[shaunakadub]

I purchased Malaysian wood too that said it sank, but it didn't =p

Boiling not only kills any kind of bacteria that "may" be on it, it also leeches the tannins out so your tank water doesn't turn brown, and if you end up having "sinking driftwood" that doesn't sink, it'll help that too.

 

[cbk.o4]

copy. ill boil it when it arrives.

 

[cbk.o4]

well im glad i boiled that wood, there was soo much tannis lol, i knew there would be some and it was probably a normal amount to everyone else, but it was alot to me, i mean i used a 6" green baking pan, and in 7-8 minutes of boiling the first two pieces i couldnt see the bottom of the pan AT ALL! so i changed that water out, and added some new to re-boil. but yeah that would have ticked me off to have been in my tank.

pics of it in the tank coming later in the 55gproject thread.

 

[dskidmore]

Link to the other thread?

 

[cbk.o4]

in my sig

 

[dskidmore]

Ah! oops, somehow had sigs turned off....

 

[tropicfishman]

hte tannins will keep coming for awhile now, be sure to soak the piece in a bucket for a few days and change the water when itturns brown that way your tank isn't yellow

 

[cbk.o4]

meh i went ahead and put it in my tank, i mean there are no fish in there or anything, and actually the yellow water doesnt really bother me that much. ill most likely just use the carbon pouch that came with the xp3 for a week then leave it alone after that.

sry i had pictures yesterday but i ended up going out before i could upload them, ill upload them in a few minutes

 

[sushiluver]

I bought some "driftwood" last week. I've steamed it with a steam cleaner and soaked it for 2 days. They're too big to fit in a pot. I put them in the tank and they float like a dry duck. So I put some rocks on top and are holding them down until they get water logged.

My question is there seems to be a coat of white fuzz growing on them. Is that bad?

My tank is currently cycling and I've just added a dose of stress zyme.

 

[rich311k]

It happens sometimes. It will so away on its own eventually.

 

[maxwell1295]

I also bought some driftwood from Aquatic Eco-Systems a few months ago and it sank immediately. I just soaked them for about a week or so in salted water and put them in. BTW, I think they have a great selection and better pricing than any place I've seen online.

 

[dskidmore]

Yeah, I was thinking of buying from them, but then got greedy on e-bay. I'm wishing now I'd stuck to the original plan, as most of the stuff I received floats. Some of it is sinking with patience, but some of it is being annoying.