Real Driftwood-will it sink?

[Guest]

A member of AA sent me some various items along with a real piece of driftwood.

I know this is a real dumb question, however how do I get real driftwood to sink? I have it soaking in water nw with a rock on top of it. Will it get water logged and sink eventually?

I have never had real wood in my tank besides LFS bought. I feel really stupid asking this question but I figured somebody on AA had put real driftwood in their tank and can tell me how long it takes, or any tricks.

Thank You

 

[Cinder]

Nothing stupid about it - it's a good question. Driftwood is funny in that it may sink within a couple of weeks and it may take months!
Has this wood been in water before? I assume yes since you say it's real driftwood and that's the definition of driftwood. If it's leaking tannins (turns the water a light brownish color) then keep it in a bucket submerged for 2 -3 weeks changing the water every day until the water pretty much stops turning color. (If you like the color then just put it in your tank - it won't hurt the fish.) The tannins can continue leaching into the water for well over a year but will continue to get less and less as time goes by.
You may have to use rocks or something heavy to hold it down (like you're doing now) in the tank but eventually it will become completely saturated and stay down on it's own.
Another good solution is to boil it for a few hours (if it's small enough to fit into a pan) and that will help it sink sooner and kill any possible bad bacteria or bugs that are on it.
I used aquarium cement to attach one of my pieces of wood to a piece of slate rock and that held it down - no problem. I just buried the slate under the gravel so you don't even know it's there. The cement didn't hold real well but by the time (a couple of weeks) that it let go of the wood it was fine - the wood stayed sunk. (like that English?)

 

[tropicfishman]

it'll sink in time, if its outside make sure that mosqitos don't lay there eggs in the standing water, it happned to me lol

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try boiling it. It is an awesome piece so I want it in the tank. Weasel F from AA sent it to me with a lot of other goodies. I think it was turned up by a hurricane. It is a good piece. One of the reasons why I love this hobby is because you learn something new all the time.

 

[WaterPond]

i have had driftwood in my pond for over two years and it has never sank, it floats on the top for my frogs, it is a really heavy peice of wood but it doesnt sink at all.

 

[Guest]

That is not what I want to hear WaterPond, but thanks anyway. I hope this one will sink. It is small

 

[Elle2]

If it doesn't I suggest you follow cinder's advice and attach it to a base. I bought mine this way and even now if the base isn't weighted down by the substrate it will float.

Good luck!

 

[UTcolorchangn]

When I got a new piece of driftwood for my 55, I let it soak in a bathtub for a week. It was still floating, so I just tied it to a brick with some fishing line. I buried the brick under the sand so you couldn't see it.

A while later (maybe 2 months) when I was doing a PWC, I tested the driftwood to see if it was waterlogged. Luckily it was so I just removed the brick from the tank and the driftwood is perfect now!

Moral of the story: Your wood will most likely sink, but there's no telling how long it will take.

I didn't want to wait any longer, that why I just tied mine to a brick. Just check it everynow and then to see if it's waterlogged.

 

[Guest]

Hey Mike, The wood came out of my tank. To make the package lighter I dryed it out for a couple of days. It may tke it a coulpe of days to get wet all the way throw but it will sink again on it's own. It shouldn't put tanners out cause it had been in my tank for over a yr. But I promise just give it a couple of days soaking in water again and it'll stay down.

 

[Guest]

Ok Thanks Weasel. I was very happy with everything. Thanks Again