Driftwood from streams?

[Todd2]

There is a stream near my house, can i use a piece of driftwood from here if i boil it and soak it or will it affect the water in my tank? It would be a lot cheaper than buying it from the LFS.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Refer to this thread from today if you have more questions I will be glad to try and help.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=10466

 

[brotherd]

I have wood from streams and the ocean in my fresh water tanks.Just boil em for a bit and your good to go!

 

[Todd2]

So all I would have to do is scrub it and boil it? Should i soak it in water for a week before putting it in my tank?

 

[e-cat]

i would scrub it and boil it for a while, the longer you boil it then the less chance of leeching tannis into the water, you can soak it in water also after you boil it and see what color it changes the water if any.

 

[Todd2]

How long should i boil and soak it?

 

[e-cat]

when i did my SA cichlid tank i boild my drift wood for a few hours and kept emptying the water and refilling it too get rid of the tannins and had it soak of 2 weeks