Driftwood?

[Pugwinkle]

Hi, I bought a piece of driftwood from Petcetera yesterday. It says it's 100% natural driftwood.

What do I have to do with it before I put it in the tank?

 

[vega]

soak in water for 2-3 days will do.

 

[lmw80]

Some people will also boil it several times before they put it in the tank....it's personal preference really.

 

[deli_conker]

I soak mine in the hottest water I can for about a week. New water 3 times a day. Before work, after work, before bed...

 

[grimlock3000]

I boil my wood for an hour or so, then soak it in dechlorinated water for a few days until it stops releasing a lot of color into the water.

 

[EEk]

I'm not sure if this holds true for pipes not in hawaii, but if you use the hottest water your tap can produce, you'll want to soak the wood in cold water the last few times before you introduce it to the tank. Hot water loosens deposits in the pipe which then end up in your water. You can see by pouring a glass of cold water, then run the hot water and pour yourself a second glass of the hot water and compare the two. The hot water will be a little cloudy from the deposits.

If you are inclined, you could distill some cold water and some hot water and compare the amount of deposits left over which is what I did for a science project.

 

[cindywindy]

Soaking it in a bathtub or boiling it has always worked just fine for me, depending on the size of the driftwood in question.