Driftwood down under

[mr.waffles1842]

Hey everybody out there in the world! I recently finished sterilizing driftwood i brought back from a hike. I soaked it in bleach, then soapy water, then in hot water. Then i scrubbed it down in aquarium water. I'm planning on putting it in today, only how long beffore it'll stay down under on its own? and how should i secure it to the bottom for now? Thanks.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Soapy water? I wouldn't use it after that. Soap is not something that should ever touch anything going in to an aquarium IMO

 

[mr.waffles1842]

-_-..... Well thats annoying... Wait, then why should the wood be bleached? Wouldnt the toxins in it get in the aquarium? or would me rinsing it out change that?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I've never bleached dw... i just put it in the dishwasher without soap, sterilizes and pre-soaks it. I'm not a fan of bleaching things except maybe the tank if it's had a sick fish in it.

 

[somethingsfishy]

Agreed. Just hot water next time. Sorry we were too late to be of any help. Good luck next time.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Huh. So other people lied to me. Thanks anyway.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Not necessarily... depends on what they told you I guess. If they told you to use soap, then that was not good advice. Bleach is probably fine, like I said, I'm just not a fan of bleach

 

[spoonman]

You can/should bleach things that go into an aquarium. You can neutralize bleach with water conditioner such as Prime. The chlorine is taken care of and is not dangerous to fish. There is chlorine in tap water, that is why you have to condition it. Bleach is just high concentrations of chlorine. Soap on the other hand has all kinds of perfumes...etc. that will not be neutralized by water conditioners. Sorry this came too late, but at least you didnt put it in and risk your fish. The only risk is with DW that the bleach would be soaked into the wood and continue to leech out into the tank. I would pressure wash or run it through the dishwasher. For other stuff such as fake plants and decor I use bleach on a regular basis to clean them. I just rinse after with a 4x solution of water and Prime.

 

[somethingsfishy]

Most water systems use chlorine to treat so straight bleach is just more concentrate. The soap is the problem. You could boil it and it may all come out but it could cost you some fish.

 

[somethingsfishy]

You can/should bleach things that go into an aquarium. You can neutralize bleach with water conditioner such as Prime. The chlorine is taken care of and is not dangerous to fish. There is chlorine in tap water, that is why you have to condition it. Bleach is just high concentrations of chlorine. Soap on the other hand has all kinds of perfumes...etc. that will not be neutralized by water conditioners. Sorry this came too late, but at least you didnt put it in and risk your fish.

Sorry posted at same time. Agreed though.

 

[somethingsfishy]

Sorry posted same thing at the same time. Agreed though.

 

[mfdrookie516]

You can/should bleach things that go into an aquarium. You can neutralize bleach with water conditioner such as Prime. The chlorine is taken care of and is not dangerous to fish. There is chlorine in tap water, that is why you have to condition it. Bleach is just high concentrations of chlorine. Soap on the other hand has all kinds of perfumes...etc. that will not be neutralized by water conditioners. Sorry this came too late, but at least you didnt put it in and risk your fish. The only risk is with DW that the bleach would be soaked into the wood and continue to leech out into the tank. I would pressure wash or run it through the dishwasher.

This is why I'm not a big fan of bleach. I'm all about bleaching a tank or certain things that would have no risk of absorbing the bleach, but when it comes to driftwood, you said just what my thoughts are.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Thank you all. Now can you answer my other questions?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Your other question can't be answered. Every piece is different. Some sink instantly, some take weeks or months, some never sinks.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I agree that the soap is a major issue and any bleach soaked into the DW will leach out over time and will most likely be harmful/deadly to fish IMO. I would strongly suggest you toss this piece and get some more. As a side note when collecting DW, think about what's around and whether some factory or the like might poison the area (ie your DW) and hardwood over softwood is my preference, since softwood will rot pretty fast when water logged.

As for sinking a piece of DW. Some will sink on their own, if it doesn't you can weight it down with rocks propped on it till it soaks up enough water, or you can use fishing weights (pure lead doesn't leach) tied to the underside of it, which worked great for me.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

My wood has been tossed. The spot where i got that wood, and am hoping to get some again, is nowhere near a factory, or anyother spot that would pollute it. Good thing i talked to you guys, otherwise i wouldnt have any fish! Thank you all!