What is priming wood for a tank and how do you do it

[Ebennett]

I am wondering what priming wood for a fish tank is I hear you need to boil it but what else would be needed can you buy it pre done

 

[Brookster123]

Yes with driftwood you should boil than soak if possible, one to remove any lingering undesirable bacteria, two for tannins, these will stain your water for days to weeks.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I spent a long time looking for driftwood. I didn't see any pre cured ones online. I'm currently well into week 2 of curing my driftwood. It was too big to fully boil so I boiled all the sides that I could and now it sits in a sink all day in hot water. The water was brown as hell when I got it and now the color is just a tan. I have another week and a half before I'm going to take it out.

 

[flitabout]

It depends on the wood. Wild drift should probably be boiled or baked but the store bought stuff is safe for immediate use. Although they do leach tannins so you may want to soak it until it's done leaching. But this isn't harmful to the fish and in fact it has a rather calming effect and they like it.

 

[TheOscar]

Soak it , and when you think your good soak a little more.. I use a very mild bleach solution , like 20:1 to kill any bacteria , then I soak it in water for about 2 weeks.. Changing the water every three days ..

 

[Toad]

I've heard if you can't boil it, bake it. I believe it's lower heat for a few hours or so, never did it myself.