when will it sink

[DepotFish]

All who are experienced with driftwood, how long did you hae to soak it before it sank on its own? I have two very large pieces going on 48 hours.

 

[GlitcH]

It depends on the type and size of the wood but it takes quite some time.
I had a two foot piece that took a couple months.

I hear boiling it can speed up the process.

 

[usmcmarc]

Yeah, as I understand It can take weeks, months or years depending on the size and type. Another method is to use a stainless steel screw tied to some kind of weight (usually slate).

 

[LandGhoti]

My lfs here bolts some of theirs down to pieces of slate. However, I bought a piece of African root that wasn't attached, and I soaked it in some used tank water (changed the water during weekly water changes) for about 3 weeks. I know it was sinkable before that (but maybe that's because it's root), but I wanted to get all the tannins out as well.

There were several people posting awhile back about boiling their driftwood (Neilanh, I think, and someone else who locked himself out of the house while the pot was boiling). Anyway, if you haven't already done a search, there are some pretty recent (maybe about 3 months ago) posts about preparing driftwood. And I think there may even be a sticky at the top of the planted tank forum about it.

 

[Jarred Darque]

I buy Malaysian. Sinks on the first try. I am gonna take some out and boil them. 75 gallon has been up a year and at the end of every week before the PWC, I cant see the back of the tank through te tannins

 

[Michael]

I have a large piece of driftwood on a piece of slate that still flouts, after 4 years.

 

[David14259]

I've boiled my driftwood, but that was to remove Tannins so the driftwood doesn't tint the aquarium water. I don't think boiling it will get it to sink any faster than just soaking it. And just soaking it might not ever get it to sink.

Your best bet to get it to sink is probably to attach it to a piece of slate, or drill a hole in the bottom and insert some kind of weights.

Good Luck.

 

[jsoong]

Boiling I think hasten the water logging process, especially if you use a pressure cooker to drive the water in. I don't have proof, tho. The small piece I boiled sank faster than the large (unboiled) piece, but maybe it is because it is smaller?

FWIW - My collected driftwood (Aspen or poplar I think) took between 3-6 months to sink.

 

[jersysman]

As Jarred said, it all depends on the type of driftwood you buy. Malaysian driftwood sinks right away. I've had some bopani driftwood that also sank right away.

 

[Jarred Darque]

if it is a piece that refusees to sink no matter how long, get a large flat peices of slate, so that not just the slate is holding it down, but the gravel/sand that is on top of the slate around the base of the DW for a few inches

 

[flip_lx]

all mine sunk first time in, granted they are not as large as yours, but i thought the boiling water was only to remove the tanins faster

 

[tropicfishman]

its liek watching paint dry or water boil, it takes forever sometimes, I have small one foot piece thast an arch shape, it took 3 weeks in abucket with a rock on it to get water logged lol I also had smaller pieces that only took a coupel days, depends on the wood and how big a piece it is, tannins took forever though lol

 

[Sidi]

I have driftwood from the Clearwater river that won't sink after a year. I have driftwood collected from a nearby river that sinks immediatly. Driftwood collected from the ocean seems to always sink.

So it all depends upon the type of wood and treatment. Some wood won't ever fully sink.