Question about gathering my own wood for my tank

[Jscoggins]

I don't boil my wood. I mean, I'd have to have an outdoors fireplace for the pieces that I choose. They're too large for inside.

If the piece comes from the local river, I do put them in a bucket of water and let them soak for about a week, then I lay them in the sun to dry out. If I find branches in my back yard, I just wipe off the cobwebs and toss them in the tank.

Also, a good way to tell hard or soft wood is, if you can make a dent in it easily with your fingernail, then it's soft.

Why do you lay them out in the sun to dry out....when you are going to put them in water again? I'm learning too....

 

[smomus]

Why do you lay them out in the sun to dry out....when you are going to put them in water again? I'm learning too....

Kills all the nasty water bugs. Another way tho that I've used (because I don't have a pan big enough to boil large pieces) is HOT salt water. Boil the water with aquarium salt then pour it over the wood. Let it soak in this salt water. Most of the bugs that are harmful to freshwater aquariums, cannot live in saltwater

 

[LyndaB]

Exactamundo.......

 

[Batt4Christ]

Most important reason to boil collected wood- parasites.

 

[cyris69]

So are untreated yard branches ok to just drop in there? I'd like to add some areas for smaller fish to hide.

 

[Sillyfishies]

What about a piece of driftwood I found on the shore of my private lake?

 

[cyris69]

Well, I was at my parents house today and we have some fire wood that has been drying for about 3 seasons and is bleached almost white. Some are decent looking cuts. I just placed them in a tub with some bricks on top to weight them down.

How long should I keep them in water? I noticed they are slightly slimy to the touch though were bone dry. Should I scrub them with a brush prior to introducing them into my tank or just rub them a bit to get the coating off? I also have not noticed any tannins as of yet but will know more in the morning.

I read a post mentioning sea salts but wouldn't that require many days of rinsing to get the salts out? I know some people put small cups of salt in their tanks so would I need to get the salts out of the wood?

 

[smomus]

Use aquarium salt not sea salt. After soaking it in salt for a few days switch to fresh water for a day. The residual salt shouldn't be enough to hurt anything.
And if you have a power washer it would be good to use that. Then scrub the crap out of it!

 

[cyris69]

ok cool, I will go out and get some aquarium salt tomorrow. How much should I add? It's all submerged in a large ~15 gallon igloo cooler. I also have a power washer and will get the wood nice and clean

Will the wood darken to a color close to drift wood?