Driftwood Advise

[F-18 TECH]

So here is my dilemma;
I placed this message in this forum because most of the planted tanks I have seen have had some sort of driftwood in them. Being that I am too cheap to purchase and live in an area with many freshwater lakes, I have collected some driftwood from those waters. So here is the question HOW DO I GET IT TO SINK. I have read that I need to attach it to a piece of shale with aquarium safe silicone. I have also read that soaking it in water for a week or so under something heavy will do the trick. Which one of these works the best and if shale is the answer what other way can I attach it to the shale. Aquarium safe silicone is very hard to get where I live. Thank you for any advise you can give me.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

To attach it to shale you need a drill with a masonry bit and a screw that will not rust. Brass or stainless steel are preferred. Boiling it will also help make it sink and remove tannins. Do you know what kind of wood it is? Hardwoods are best. Pine and cedar have too much sap and junk.

 

[F-18 TECH]

In answer to the previous post;
Thankyou for the reply, the type of wood is birch and Oak. I researched these and found them to have less junk than the others. And I will be hauling my butt to the hardware store tommorow for the masonry bit and stainless screws

 

[Purrbox]

Keep in mind that some wood will never sink no matter how long you boil or let it soak. I that case the slate and other weighting techniques are your only choice.

 

[newfound77951]

And also keep in mind, that any wood collected from outside should be boiled before going into your tank....there could be lots of nasty things living in there....

 

[F-18 TECH]

Thank you for the tips
I am planing on going right to the store after work and buying a masonry bit and some stainless/brass screws. That should do the trick. Oh and to answer the previous post I did boil the afore mentioned wood for almost two days.

 

[Daryth Darkmoon]

This thread has definately helped me.
Though I do have one question to add.
How do I boil a piece of larger driftwood? I've got a piece on the way that is roughly 21" long, 9" tall and 6" wide. I know I don't have a pan that large.

 

[woodsplace1]

I had a pretty big piece of driftwood that was too big to boil so I took a big pot, boiled the water and dumped it over the driftwood more times than you would imagine. I did this for days and you wouldn't believe what came out of it...sticky nasty resin glue junk...Glad I did! I think there were even some little bugs of some kind, lord only knows what those were! So try the boiling and pouring over the wood several times, that should help!

HTH!

 

[Thebluyak]

here is what im doing, get a big tub and a big rock. Put the driftwood in and put the rock on top, dump boiling water, let it sit over night, repeat
and it will eventually sink, when it sinks take it out and put it in your tank and repeat with the leftover pieces that still float

 

[pwrflpills]

now that the summer heat is almost here, bake it out in the sun for a few days...

couldn't hurt.

 

[GlitcH]

This thread has definately helped me.
Though I do have one question to add.
How do I boil a piece of larger driftwood? I've got a piece on the way that is roughly 21" long, 9" tall and 6" wide. I know I don't have a pan that large.

I used a turkey fryer........big pot and you can do it outside with propane.