How much time to get drift wood to sink?

[lawdawg18]

This past saturday I picked up a few pieces of driftwood to add to my 55 gal tank. I spent sat night and sunday boiling it on and off. I have had the wood sitting in water since saturday but it is still floating. About how long until it will sink? Any suggestions??

[Grassguy]

When I got my driftwood, I couldn't get it into a pot, so i soaked it in our bathtub. I ran steaming hot water over it for about 20 min every night and then let it soak in that water til the next night when I hit it with hot water again. Took bout 4 weeks to get it to sink on its own. Now I weighted it down in the tub to keep it under. I also got a long 3/8" bit and drilled a hole down the center to aid in water absorption. It took a great deal of patience for me.

Anyone have any quicker methods?

[ChEeRs_BiG_EaRs]

put a rock on it to keep it under the water for a night. little bubbles should start coming out of different areas and then by the morning it should ahve stopped and the wood wil lbe waterlogged :)
Justin

[DeVitaf]

I got a flat peice of slate and drilled a hole through it. I then attacked it to the wood using a stainless steel screw.

The slate plus the gravel on top of the slate was enough to submerge the wood.

[DeVitaf]

btw, ChEeRs_BiG_EaRs

That is an awesome pl*co in your avatar. I never saw a bristlenose with so much unique coloration.

[Dangerdoll]

I have a pretty big hunk in my tank and it's still not able to stay under by itself. When I first got it, I ran hot water over it, kept it submersed in a garbage pail (specifically meant for aquarium stuff) for a week or so....nothing. This is already screwed onto a piece of slate, so the slate isn't helping...... went to the LFS and bought 3 big rocks and burried the slate under the gravel as well as placing the rocks on the corners (3 of them) of the slate. To this day, if I moved those rocks, that thing would be floating, although it wouldn't torpedo up to the surface like it used to...

[valerie]

DId you buy this drift wood or find it? I found some at the lake tha ti wanted but it wouldnt' sinkright away. I cut it in half to make it a better size for soaking(still had to be done in a garbage can). I poured boiling water over it everyday, and boiled it ina big pot over the fire pit outside every couple days(for a few hours each time). This went on for months(i gave up on teh boiling but still soaked it with hot water everyday). Finally after 4 months i was tired of doing all this and decided to take the best looking piece(the smalle half) and drill a bunch of tiny holes all over it, the the cracks and stuff so you couldnt' see them. Then boil it again. After drilling it it finally sunk after about a week of boiling.

I jsut recently bought a bunch of wood for my 58g(2 big pieces that cover almost the entire bottom) and it costs 70$ but in my eyes it was worth it as it sunk right away and i didn't have to go through the hell of boiling and soaking.

Moral of hte story, finding driftwood is not always betterthen jsut buying it. It may be cheaper but its a lot more work.

[Uncle Bete]

Now I remember why I like the African root so much!

Just a word of caution for anyone doing the screw through the slate thing.

I bought one already put together this way. It was fairly large(a nice one for my 75). I was holding mine down in the aquarium and putting rocks on the slate to hold it down after it had been soaking for about a week. All of the sudden it shot up to the top (halfway out of the water). The screw had broken the slate just enough to go through it. I was just glad it didn't wait until I'd put the glass and light back on it, woulda been a mess!

[lawdawg18]

I bought the wood it had little suction cups screwed onto it. I was concerned about putting the metal into the tank so I took the cups and screws off. The guy at the fish shop said the wood and suction cups were designed for birds and reptiles but it could go into a aquarium no problem. I boiled it on and off for two days and it has been soaking for a few more days now. I was worried that metal (the screws, or weights) might not be good for the fishes. I thought a few days of soaking the wood would become water logged again and sink on its on.

[Slappy*McFish]

It took my wood over two years to stay submerged without the aid of weights. I used heavy stones leaned against the wood to acheive this, otherwise the wood would torpedo to the surface much like Dangerdoll said...with quite a bit of force, I might add.

[BK]

alternate between boiling and cold icy water always making sure the wood is submerged. I've heard that using a foodsaver or the like the wood can be put in a bag with water and the air sucked out causing the wood to absorb water faster.

- - slate weighted driftwood is pure evil :mad2 :rant: - -

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

i used slappys methong but once i didnt put the rocks up hard enough and during the night i heared a bang turns the lights on and the wood flew to the top and smashed the top glass(the lid) glass everywere. that was a few months ago and it still hasnt been water loged

[lawdawg18]

Yesterday I took the smaller piece of wood and tied a pretty good size rock under it. I tried to tie it to the big piece of wood but it still floated. I took some java moss and tied that on to cover up the fishing line. It ended up looking pretty good. I stuck the big bottom rock down in the gravel.

[Slappy*McFish]

It took about 15 pounds(7 kilos) of rock to hold mine down, Tia.

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

mines held down by about 3 kgs but its getting their

[Tetras_Rule33]

I have a really small piece thats maybe the width of 2 fingers together and the length of your hand. So would just boiling it for a while be a good way to make it sink, since its not a huge chunk.

[Tetras_Rule33]

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