Water logging driftwood - How and with what?

[Electrobes]

Hey everyone, I finally got my driftwood pieces in, and was wondering how does one get rid of the tannins in there... without heating the water, I can leave it in a rubber made tub with my useless rio 1400, but don't want to constant fill the tub and then drain it with hot water. I heard of using bleach then someone else said using peroxides was better... which is better and whree can I get it??? Thanks everyone!

 

[captainGregor]

There is a great article that Scott wrote about driftwood that will answer all your questions. Here it is http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=34

 

[Electrobes]

thanks captain I forgot about that

 

[captainGregor]

Electrobes, I found that a regular beverage cooler is so convenient for treating driftwood! I have a large 15 gallon one and it is great.

 

[Electrobes]

heh my pieces were pretty big, also does it matter how much salt you use? I think I went above the cup per 10 gallons..

 

[Electrobes]

Yeah I definately over salted the tub.. is that bad for the driftwood? ALso how often does one change the water in the tub?

 

[Sati]

I use malaysian drift wood in my tanks and it has always sunk immeditately. Am I just luckly that I've never had a problem sinking wood?

 

[captainGregor]

You'll be allright man. You are not going to oversalt it to the point of them being pickled You need to change the water every 2-3 days. Did you find that wood or bought it somewhere?

 

[Electrobes]

I bought it on ebay, and he pretty much did nothing to it, say maybe lightly sanding it, if that. But when I got it I sanded it some to remove sharp edges and any other loose ends, bricked them down in a 31 gallon rubbermaid tub and put a lot of salt (considering I have 40 pounds of salt that I'll never use). I started this yesterday and planned on doing a 50% water changed everyday... which I have done today.

 

[captainGregor]

Great. I myself found my piece near local creek. I sanded it well, treated it for 2 weeks maybe, tied it to a piece of slate, and now it is sitting in my tank. I drilled 2 holes in my slate and use plastic locking wire ties to secure it to the wood, so that I did not have to use screws and silicone them.

 

[myriam]

Mine has been soaking in a bowl of salty, dechlorinated water for four days. It doesn't float as much, but it surely doesn't sink. How many more days of this before the thing is waterlogged? I am lazy and would rather not do drilling and get slate, etc.

 

[Electrobes]

they say it takes about two weeks... but who knows it depends on the wood.. I am going to let it go for about two weeks... changing 50% of the water daily... seems to be doing the trick though.. getting rid of the tannins and the wood is a lot heavier