Have an idea and need some advice

[zao]

Hello guys! I am currently working on a 120Gallion aquarium and I am in the process of desiging it. Well today when I was leaving my house I saw this cool looking dift log, that has probably been sitting in our yard since I was born in 1983. So I was woundering if I could make it aquarium safe, and if I could what would I do to make it aquarium safe. I do you you have to boil it to kill off any bacterica that might be on it. But it is a pretty large log. So if I could get any idea that would be great!!

Thank's
Andy

P.S
I took a couple of pictures of it, so you can take a look at what is looks like.

 

[jsoong]

Neat looking wood you got there... Do you know what species it is? Generally, hardwood is good for the aquarium, but avoid pine ... sap is an irritant (to fish) & I hear it will make a gluey mess in your tank. I have heard coflicting advice on cedar - I think it is OK if well aged ... ie no cedar smell. ..<well, I have a piece in mine & it seems fine>

You need to sterilize and water-log the wood before using in tank. Boiling for 6-8 hours is best, but is difficult for a large piece.

What I did for mine is to scrub the surface well & remove all soft/rotting bits. Then I bleach the whole thing with 1:20 bleach for a few hours. Then I rinse & rinse & soak the piece in dechlorinated water for several weeks, changing water every few days. This is to 1. get rid of tannins, 2. get rid of bleach, 3. get the wood water-logged. Finally, I soak in boiling water - not quite boiling the piece, but the best I can do without a hugh pot!

So far, my wood is working fine.

Another way is to use salt - you soak in brine solution for weeks to kill all FW bugs, then you have to soak for weeks or months to get rid of the salt. There will always be some salt left, so best not to use with salt sensitive fish. I think the salt treatment is prob. best left to wood found in the ocean.

 

[frog girl]

Wow thats beautiful driftwood. jsoong is correct about all the precautions. However if you are sure this hasn't been in the water for a long time then you probably don't need to be quite so careful. I "sterilized" mine by pouring boiling water over it repeatedly and scrubbing. I also hollowed out the inside of one of my pieces & drilled holes for fish to hide in. Then I weight them down & put them in my rain barrel. You may even be able to do part of the water logging process while the tank is cycling.

I guess I am a bit more cavalier about biological systems. If you have a healthy tank I think it is unlikely you will introduce anything nasty (maybe some algae if you do nothing to the wood). I'm probably not so worried because I have never had any outbreak of disease or anything (knock on driftwood). But I have only been doing this for a little over a year so it is probably best to be careful & sterilize well.

If this piece has been in your yard since 1983 then it probably is some form of hardwood because softwoods tend to break down more. But it could be from the ocean so be sure to soak it quite a while in case their is any salt left.

I wouldn't worry too much about the tannic acid if you do regular water changes. Unless you have fish that will be sensitive to your pH going down slowly a small amount. In fact tannins can act as natural chelators so a bit of tannic acid may help dissolved micronutrients (i.e. iron) stay in solution longer (only a concern if you are growing plants).

Be sure to post a pic when you get your tank all designed & up. Sounds like it will be really neat.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I agree with above, except with the bleaching. On top of that, you may want to use a power washer (be careful if the wood is real fragile), and also take a wire brush to remove any moss or dirt. What I do here at my little driftwood business is do a thorough inspection to make sure the wood is hardwood and aquarium acceptable, I power wash and wire brush any loose particles. Then I soak it in hot water, changing the water every day until the tannins ease up. Usually a week or so. This will also kill anything living in the wood. Then I let it dry and attatch slate to the pieces, so they will sink and stay put.
If you don't have access to a large barrel or container, you can use the bathtub also. Of course, other family members may not appreciate it
That is a really great piece you have, but I would recommend power washing it if you can because its probably infested with spiders from being a yard decoration for 22 years.
Be sure to post pics when youre done, I want to see it in a tank!

 

[zao]

Thank you all of posting. Well I am not really for sure what type of species it is. What I really know about it is that, it beening sitting in our yard of years and the only type of water that has ever reached it, is if it was raining outside. I also think it is a hardwood. It feels pretty tough But what I am probably going to do is, tomarrow wash it off really well and then get a wire bursh and scrap it, and try to get any type of loose material off of it. Then I am probably going to sock it in the bath tub, with hot tap water, durning the day when no one is using it and durning the night when everyone is in bed. Durning the time period when people need to use it, I will have to take it out. After I let it sock for a couple days or so. I thought about taking hot boiling pans of water and dumping them on it. To try and kill anything off of it. So does that sound like a good plain??

Sorry if I sound like a idot in this message. It is about 6:30 in the morning and it is bed time for me! LOL! I know I am a night owl!

 

[zao]

Oh yeah, one more thing. I will take pictures of it when I am all done and it is in the aquarium for you guys!