New Driftwood For My Tank

[starfang]

Last week I found a nice piece of driftwood by the beach. I have let it sit outside for a week spending time in the rain and heat. I have washed it couple of times as well. What else should I do before I could add it to my tank? I've heard that I should boil it abit. In what temp? for how long?
Thanks.

 

[Lowryder]

When you say you washed it, did you use soap? If you did that is a no-no.

You can boil it in a large pot for a few hours. As for the temp, just keep it at 212F and you will be fine.

 

[JohnPaul]

Remove any traces of bark, as well as any lichen etc. that might be growing on the outside. Boil it for several hours. Soak it in a bucket of tap water for about a week and see how brown/yellow the water gets...this is caused by the tannins leaching out of the wood. If the water is fairly clear, then you are ready to put it in the tank. If the water gets really dark, then change out the water and soak some more, switching out water whenever it starts getting significantly discolored. Once it is no longer discoloring the water heavily, it is ready.