How long do you boil driftwood?

[lamthuyduong]

If you use your own driftwood, how long should you boil it? ARe there any other methods of treating your own driftwood?

 

[Guest]

Treating it for what?

Once again. Driftwood is actually NOT what you should be looking for. Bog wood is preferred. Driftwood is called driftwood because it drifts on the tides, and if it drifts it floats. Also much of the driftwood on the West Coast is composed of softwood like pine and fir. You do NOT want to use these woods in your tank.

Bog wood on the other hand is primarily hard wood. And due to being in a bog it's already water logged and sinks and due to being in the bog the softer parts of the wood have already decayed.

 

[TankGirl]

If you are using wood for your tank, that is known to be safe for your tank, you don't necessarily have to boil it at all. I just soak mine. I like Swahala wood myself - it is pretty and already dense and sinks like a rock, and if I don't want tannins it is only a matter of soaking it in water for a week or so and that's it.

Some people soak wood in a salt bath to kill FW nasties.

 

[Robert H]

If it is wood from a store, then the main reason for boiling it is to get rid of the tannin, the acid that will turn your tank a dark tea color or yellow.

I used to boil wood at a slow boil in a big pot for 2 or 3 hours. I don't know if it has to be that long or not, but it worked! It killed the tannin and also made sure the wood became water logged. Small peices of hardwood or "swahala" wood can sometimes still float, but after boiling they sink. For wood too big for a pot, I have run it thru a dishwasher or even in a laundry washing machine, without soap of course.

 

[Bearfan]

I slow boil it 2 hours to remove the tannin.