Check out my driftwood!

[fishfairy]

Check out this great piece of driftwood I got off eBay. It arrived today and looks even better in person than it does in the picture. The height is perfect to fit in my 55g tank and the diameter of the "trunk" is about 4 inches so it is nice and thick. It's going to make an amazing centerpiece.

The seller said in the description that it has been thoroughly cleaned and it does seem pretty clean, but do you think there is anything else I should do to it before putting it in the tank? I know I should probably soak it, but I'm not too worried about it not being water logged with the height of the driftwood because I don't think it will be able to float up.

 

[Jchillin]

As with any new addition, soaking in some boiling water cannot hurt. That is a very nice piece of wood though. If it came from a previous tank, it shouldn't take long for it to sink.

 

[lmw80]

That is a great piece of driftwood!

 

[rich311k]

Great find, congrats.

 

[fishfairy]

As with any new addition, soaking in some boiling water cannot hurt. That is a very nice piece of wood though. If it came from a previous tank, it shouldn't take long for it to sink.

Well it's pretty large, so I'm not sure how to boil it. It measures about 18" high, 24" long, and 9" wide. I don't have a pot that big, lol. Would pouring boiling water over it and then soaking it afterwards in a tub help?

It's not from a previous tank. The seller collects driftwood, cleans it up, and sells it on eBay.

 

[Jchillin]

Yeah, I doubt you could soak the entire thing. Your option is sound. Since the wood is un-acclimated, you may have to do this for several hours to get rid of any surface contaminants. Getting it to sink may be a challenge...are there any hollow areas?

 

[Stretch]

How about using a pot for cooking crawfish?

 

[fishfairy]

No hollow areas that I can see. It's a pretty solid piece.

And Stretch, that's a good idea.. If I had one. I really don't want to buy a pot just for this purpose.

 

[Guest]

Let us no how it goes. Jchillin is 100% on the button. If it was not in a previous tank, it may tank weeks or longer. Or you may get lucky. Good Luck though it looks nice

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Another option I just learned and tried, and works well, is if you don't have a big enough pot like I do, take a small kettle of boiling water and pour over it slowly, and make sure you get all the surface areas. Then if you have a large bucket, get yourself a small bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, and fill the bucket with warm water and dump the whole bottle of HP in the bucket and place the driftwood in the bucket. It will start fizzing. After 15-20 minutes, pull it out, empty the bucket, and put fresh water in and put the driftwood back in and let sit for 2 hours. That will ensure all the remaining HP that was on the wood will turn to water, and then you are set. I did that with a piece of driftwood that I was having an algae problem with, and no more algae. Within a couple days, the driftwood was bare, and is still bare. I have algae growing everywhere else, but not on the driftwood, lol.

 

[fishfairy]

Well I filled the largest pot I had and boiled some water. I was able to dip parts of the driftwood in the pot for a few minutes and then rotate it and dip another part. After I dipped about as much as I could, I put it in the sink and used a smaller pot to pour the boiling water over the remaining sections I could not reach. I now have it sitting in a cooler of water soaking.

As far as waterlogging, I know that takes a while but this is a heavy piece as it is and with the height, I don't think I'm going to have a problem getting it to stay put in the tank. It is just short enough to sit in the tank without sticking out the top so it can't really move anywhere.