Driftwood?

[lbannie]

I'm getting into plants, so far I have the 15 gal nat geo tank with the stock LEDs. It's full of endlers!
Anyway, my question is..... I live next to a reservoir(freshwater) and there is tons of driftwood. If it is totally dried out and smooth will it be ok for my tank? How do you make it sink?


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[BBradbury]

Using Local Driftwood

I'm getting into plants, so far I have the 15 gal nat geo tank with the stock LEDs. It's full of endlers!
Anyway, my question is..... I live next to a reservoir(freshwater) and there is tons of driftwood. If it is totally dried out and smooth will it be ok for my tank? How do you make it sink?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Hello Iban...

It will look great. Local pieces are much better than the stuff sold in the pet stores and better for the tank water. No tannic acid to turn the water that amber color. I live close to rivers, so I find nice pieces and have them in all my tanks. I just rinse them well with a pressure nozzle attached to the garden hose and leave them out in the sun for a few hours. They're tank ready. Pick up some rocks too. You'll likely need them to weigh down the piece in the tank, but this makes for a natural look.

Have fun!

B

 

[RadMax8]

Ibannie,

As long as it's hardwood, you shouldn't have any trouble using the wood. You'll need to take care to prepare it, but there should be no issue using stuff you find. How big is the piece? If you can fit it in a pot, I would recommend boiling it to remove tannins and any potential nasty bacteria. If it's too big to boil, I've heard you can put it in a bucket with a dilute bleach solution. You will have to make sure the chlorine is neutralized before you even think about putting it into the tank! Boiling/soaking will make the wood more apt to sink, but you may need to screw a piece of slate to help keep it down.

Good luck!


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[lbannie]

Ok thanks! I haven't found a piece yet, I was looking at the fake stuff for sale and it looks terrible and expensive!
I'll have to do some wood scouting!


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