Driftwood help

[Claireabigailq]

I was wondering if there is a way to make driftwood from the ocean safe for my freshwater tropical aquarium, thank you!

 

[venymae]

IMO soaking it for several days in fresh water (and several water changes) would leach out all the salt, making it safe. You would also need to disinfect it (boiling water) like normal. I am not 100% sure on this though.

 

[Claireabigailq]

Thank you! I will make sure to do that!

 

[Khuligirl93]

All the wood in my tank I found on the beach. I just soaked it for a few weeks and boiled it and it hasn't caused any problems besides a bunch of tannins.

 

[Claireabigailq]

Thank you for answering, I will need a lot of help.

 

[J1Time]

kiddie pools in the backyard are an easy way to soak large pieces and or a lot at once.

 

[Claireabigailq]

Thanks for the input!

 

[Claireabigailq]

Can I clean it in 80% water and 20% bleach and then let it dry?

 

[Claireabigailq]

Does it float when you put it in? If so what can I do to make it sink? Will it eventually run out of tannins?

 

[J1Time]

may or may not float. Tannis can linger around for a LONG time.....but water changes will remove. If you use the kiddie pool just throw a cinder block on top of it

 

[tnfinfan]

Can I clean it in 80% water and 20% bleach and then let it dry?

Don't use bleach on porous materials like wood. It can wreck havoc with your tank's pH for a long while because it soaks into the wood and is a strong base (ph 12!). Heat is much better. My piece was too big for the largest pot so I stuck it in a bucket and poured a big pot of boiling water over it.

 

[Claireabigailq]

Ok, thanks!

 

[mbrew345]

Purigen is what I use to keep tannis out of my tanks it doesn't seem to cause other issues. I run mine with Purigen and Activated Carbon. Everything and everyone says you don't need AC but I figured if it's not gonna hurt it wth... BTW when will I get my dive weight back from holding my newest driftwood down??? Lol I've got a dive trip planned for May 17th that I'll need it for. New driftwood was added on Monday

 

[venymae]

Purigen is what I use to keep tannis out of my tanks it doesn't seem to cause other issues. I run mine with Purigen and Activated Carbon. Everything and everyone says you don't need AC but I figured if it's not gonna hurt it wth... BTW when will I get my dive weight back from holding my newest driftwood down??? Lol I've got a dive trip planned for May 17th that I'll need it for. New driftwood was added on Monday

It really depends. Some take a couple days, some still don't sink after a year.

 

[mbrew345]

Thanks. I'm thinking about mounting it to a piece of slate.

 

[venymae]

that usually fixes it