driftwood

[absolutangel04]

Has anybody ever prepared their own driftwood for a tank? I have seen beautiful pieces of it at the beach, but I am unsure if I could make it safe for the aquarium.

 

[hippy guy]

If its the right kind of wood. Id run your dishwasher once with nothing (no soap) then run it again with your drift wood. Take it out, brush it down to make sure its all good to sink, and then it should be good to go

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Or if you don't want to use a dishwasher you can always boil it

 

[roydooms]

Or if the wood is too big to fit in a pot, boil some water, put the wood in a big enough container(I usually use the sink) then pour in the boiling water. Let it soak for a few minutes or until the water cools down a little bit. Repeat until the wood stopped leeching tannins(if you don't like tannins).

 

[absolutangel04]

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[BBradbury]

Driftwood Prep

Hello abs...

Using local pieces of wood and rocks is the only way to go. It looks very good and it's cheap. This is all I use in my 55 G tanks. The local rivers here are great sources for wood and rocks.

I've never boiled anything or used chemicals before putting the pieces in my tanks. Just used the pressure nozzle on the garden hose to spray everything off real well and then a few hours in the sun to dry and then into the tank.

I use the rocks to weigh down the large wood pieces or I drill holes in the wood and use black sewing thread to attach pieces of Java fern and float the wood. Either way makes for a great looking tank.

B

 

[absolutangel04]

Hello abs...

Using local pieces of wood and rocks is the only way to go. It looks very good and it's cheap. This is all I use in my 55 G tanks. The local rivers here are great sources for wood and rocks.

I've never boiled anything or used chemicals before putting the pieces in my tanks. Just used the pressure nozzle on the garden hose to spray everything off real well and then a few hours in the sun to dry and then into the tank.

I use the rocks to weigh down the large wood pieces or I drill holes in the wood and use black sewing thread to attach pieces of Java fern and float the wood. Either way makes for a great looking tank.

B

That is really good advice. I think it would be great to have a small piece floating. My platies love floating vegetation and cover.