I bought a rather large piece of driftwood from my lfs today. It has supposedly already been boiled and baked however its been soaking in hot water in my bathtub for several hours already. I have been taking a wire brush to it to remove loose pieces. It is a stump with lots of holes and cave-like parts. It seems that some of these crevices have a softer consistency to the wood. Will using the wire brush be enough to prepare the wood for my tank or should I really go at it with a dremel? I am not sure if its rotten or not. I can just barely push my fingernail into the "insides" of these crevices whereas the external parts of the stump are very hard. Thanks
driftwood question
- Thread starter msjinkzd
- Start date
Is the water still clear? I just used a green scruby to scrub it..Also from what you described the wood sound's good......
its your choice really. if you can see or feel that it is positively rotting, try to remove that portion. of course, you can always add it to your tank and remove it later if you notice that it is rotting..
always treat a piece of wood bought at an LFS as if it hasnt been treated.. boil/bake it yourself if you can. read the article in my sig if you have any more questions, or post them here.
always treat a piece of wood bought at an LFS as if it hasnt been treated.. boil/bake it yourself if you can. read the article in my sig if you have any more questions, or post them here.
I read your article and it was a big help. I just wasn't sure if my soft spots were rot or just a different texture because of how the wood grew. I can't fit it in my oven or a pot so I am constantly refreshing my super hot tap water with it in the tub. So far no leeching of tannins but we'll see. Thanks for the info!
FYI - We used a turkey roaster.Boiled it on the stove 2 burner's..Turning as needed.....
bingo! or if you have a propane turkey fryer kit, the large pot can be used on the burner OUTSIDE.
this driftwood is about 25" long by 22" wide by 17" tall. I don't have anything it will fit in! Will the bathtub treatment be enough?
the bathtub treatment should be good... as long as the water youre pouring on it is as absolutely hot as you can get it.
Nice piece of wood, some people soak for weeks, but if your water stay's clear and you cleaned it, through it in.....
So I have been soaking it for 7 hours now, constantly refreshing my hot water in the tub. There is sediment in the tub, but no discoloration of the water. I took it out and used a razor knife to scrape portions that seemed spongey (around crevices). i can't sink a fingernail in but they still seem a little spongey. Do you think after more soaking that this piece will be ok? What are the dangers of putting a piece in that has some rot? There arent' any places where I can easily slough off wood. I just don't want to make a huge mistake. Its so beautiful though.