How to Make Driftwood

[Aqualady40]

....yahhhhh...My fiance surprised me today and took me to Kellyville, Oklahoma to gather a GOODIE bag of driftwood from Lake Heyburn.....so my question is.....Who knows how to do this PROPERLY and please step me through this...
A pic of my goodie bag is attached...will have pics tomorrow of the pieces

 

[Steve191]

....yahhhhh...My fiance surprised me today and took me to Kellyville, Oklahoma to gather driftwood from Lake Heyburn.....so my question is.....Who knows how to do this PROPERLY and please step me through this...

Before you do anything make sure this is legal. In some places it is illegal to take wood. I would recommend taking a hatchet. This will allow you to take bits of wood off of logs and other pieces Also if you use a hatchet you can make any driftwood appear to be very old axe cut wood.

 

[Aqualady40]

Before you do anything make sure this is legal. In some places it is illegal to take wood. I would recommend taking a hatchet. This will allow you to take bits of wood off of logs and other pieces Also if you use a hatchet you can make any driftwood appear to be very old axe cut wood.

I have it already...just need the steps

 

[Steve191]

Home and scrub them very well and rinse. Boil the wood for about 20mins then change the water. Keep repeating this for about 4 to 5 times a day. As often as possible. Always keep the wood in water when boiling and when not boiling.

 

[Aqualady40]

Home and scrub them very well and rinse. Boil the wood for about 20mins then change the water. Keep repeating this for about 4 to 5 times a day. As often as possible. Always keep the wood in water when boiling and when not boiling.

How long will I keep this up? The pieces are dried out already and some were a bit muddy from being on the muddy part of the river bank, so how do I know when I can stop this step?

 

[Steve191]

. So maybe pu t them in a tough plastic container and fill it with pots of boiling water. What I do for large pieces is the put the wood into a metal container fill with water and place on top of a base for a deep fryer. The propane powered kind. If this is accessible to you it is extremely fast and helpful.

 

[Steve191]

You can stop when the water is clear after a few minutes of boiling. It will be brown for a few boils as the tannins seep out of the wood

 

[Steve191]

Also if you squeeze the wood very hard it will fell almost as if it compresses very slightly as long as the wood isn't too hard.

 

[smallfry53]

This may help Driftwood - Aquarium Advice Good luck.

 

[Aqualady40]

Hi all..here is the finished DW...sorry for the glare I tried at different angles and couldn't get rid of the glare 100%; however, yeah the dw is finally done ...... I'm not sure if this will be the final positions of the DW because I have to place them and observe tank for a bit till I get that "feeling" that its where I like them...so for now this is it

 

[Tetra1990]

I love it! I would put another pot on the right side, under the wood,to help keep it up. But it's up to you.

 

[Aqualady40]

I love it! I would put another pot on the right side, under the wood,to help keep it up. But it's up to you.

smiling...no pots needed...I attached wood to slates...it is a large stand alone piece with i smaller piece under arch and 1 smaller piece on right front side.....the pots are in right corner...here some better pics...what you think??

 

[jetajockey]

I like it, it looks nice and clean. I'd eventually swap the fake plants on the right side with real ones, but otherwise it looks quite nice.

 

[Tetra1990]

Ah, I see. Looks great! And yes, swap out for live plants when your ready. Some moss on the wood could be cool.

 

[Aqualady40]

I like it, it looks nice and clean. I'd eventually swap the fake plants on the right side with real ones, but otherwise it looks quite nice.

wow...you guys read minds well...I removed the fake plants after I took the photo...and I want to remove the pots also but I haven't decided just yet.....but I did decide to add more live plants as I go along btw I am waiting for lfs plant shipment to come in.....