prepping wood?

[redruckus]

i know some one that was doing some lot clearing and i grabed a few root masses from what im about 90% shure are maple trees... how would i prep them so i can put them in my tank im soaking the ones that have bark on them to help get it of easyer and i rinsed off a bunch of dirt and am drying the ones that are fairly clean.... what could i do to improve my end product.... i dont have a pot big enough to boil them they are very big around 2 feet across

 

[MrBeta]

Well a popular one is the dishwasher sans soap.
Another option is a bathtub or a rubbermaid tote of some sort.

Some people use saltwater to kill the baddies and some use bleach water. The key is to scrub all of the dirt off, peel any loose debris off and get it as clean as you can.

An alternative to scrubbing is to use a pressure washer or a coin fed car wash with the high pressure spray.

To "plant" it, screw it to a piece of slate or weigh it down with rocks until it stays at the bottom. Usually it'll take a few weeks.

Good luck and take pics!

Eta:
If you know someone with a sandblaster you can have them blast it which will clean and sand the wood.

 

[redruckus]

i know about the slate but this is like fresh wood it still has bark that is stuck to it hard i tryed peeling it off but it didnt work... soaking i hope helps

 

[redruckus]

also some of the wood has some black char on it cuz it was in a small fire i think i scrubbed most of it off but its still kinda black is that bad?

 

[redruckus]

ok... status update... have one big tote have to rotate the wood every other day so the whole thing can soak...
what are some tips for getting bark off wood.. i dont have access to a sand blaster and dont want to mess it up with a wire brush would a soak dry soak dry soak dry work to get it off (this wood was green like a week or so ago)...

 

[MrBeta]

I wouldn't worry about messing it up with a wire brush. Honestly if the wood is that soft, it's probably too soft for your water.

As for the bark, you can let it soak and pull the bark off as it softens or use a hatchet or machete to cut it off.

 

[redruckus]

oh ok i was think the wire brush on a drill i know scrubbing it with a wire brush would work its just a pain... im using a sharpend butter knife to peel what i can off but its still hard to get off.... im just thinkin of a method to get it off easyer... also im like 85% shure its maple if not ash... i know for shure its hard wood