Question about driftwood

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Picked up some driftwood from the beach can i use it?? I have a fifty gallon long freshwater tank.
-Josh

 

[Sake]

You should be able to, best driftwood to use is hardwood, and you'll need to do a bit to prep it for your tank. One thing is to remove any bark if it has any left, another you need to make sure it sinks, you can either soak it, tie something heavy to it, or boil it depending on how big it is, or screw a piece of slate/tile to it. Last thing is to make sure it doesn't have any virus/parasites on it, you can boil it, stick it in the dishwasher, or let it sit out in the sun for a long time. You don't have to do it all in the order I said though.

 

[GodFan]

Be very careful. The salt could cause issues.

 

[gkuzel]

I would try to boil it first. If the piece of wood is too big, leave it out in the sun, and rinse it with the hose to try and get some of the salt out.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Driftwood Question

Picked up some driftwood from the beach can i use it?? I have a fifty gallon long freshwater tank.
-Josh

Hello Ten...

Not sure I'd use anything that's been near salt water for any length of time. If you're determined to use it, and it fits, run it through your dishwasher a time or two, without the detergent, of course. The dishwasher water gets to 180 degrees and should sterilize the piece and get rid of most if not all of the salt that's soaked into the wood.

B

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Decided against it thanks for all your help

 

[vanimal]

Yeah ive done that before just clean it really well and it should be fine