Curing Driftwood

[Reddog80p]

HI all,

I just got a gnarly piece of driftwood. I was wondering if there was a "curing" process to ensure it is safe for my aquarium. I'm not sure where it is from or what kind of wood it is. I attached a pic of the driftwood.

 

[flushingfish]

Its a nice looking piece. Not knowing where it is from you could introduce some nasty things into your tank. I would suggest giving ita good scrub to remove any loose material and then if possible to boil it for 5 minutes. If thats not possible you could try pouring boiling water over it in the attempt to sterilize it. You could then soak it for a few days to leech out any tannins and get it to sink. I'm sure others will chime in if I've missed anything.

 

[Guest]

Get a rubbermaid tub and fill it with clean water, then mix in a lot of salt. Soak it for a week or so, weight it down if it floats.

 

[majolo]

I never heard about adding salt. What does that do?

 

[Guest]

Salt will dehydrate and kill any organisms on the wood.

 

[flushingfish]

Cool I didn't know that one. Thanks