The Driftwood Gods are smiling on me this week...

[BioHazard]

Well, after finding that sweet piece of driftwood earlier this week, I decided to go out again. My class ended at 10, and I had a doctors appointment at 11, and I didn't want to just sit around. So, I knew Kocher Park was nearby, and went there. I had found a nice piece there before, and figured I might have good luck again.
Went down the the rivers edge, and tantalizingly close under the water was an interesting bit of wood sticking out. I carefully avoided the ice, and got on my knees, but I couldn't get a good grip, and it seemed to be stuck. So, I got on my belly and stuck both my arms into the icy water. Out comes a MASSIVE piece of awesome driftwood! I lug the waterlogged piece back to my car, up a snowy hill with no path.
Well, I can't leave well enough alone, so I begin walking the rivers edge, coming along several more large, heavy pieces of NICE driftwood. Of course, now I realize I have to get this stuff back to my car. I end up having to make a couple trips, as the wood is waterlogged , cold and icy, and awkward.
So, I ended up with a trunk full of driftwood I don't need, freezing cold hands and tired arms and legs. I just can't say no to driftwood, and the beauty of giving in to driftwood is that, unlike fish, it needs no care.
Also, I did make my doctors appointment on time, but I daresay I was sweatier and muddier than they expected.

My trunk o' wood.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120167.jpg


This is the first piece I fished out. It is pretty large!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120172.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120173.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120174.jpg

You can see this large piece, and some of the smaller ones, have rocks trapped in them. I found a piece like this here earlier, but it was not as large. However, it has worked great in the tank, so I imagine these will work great too.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120175.jpg

Piece 2
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120168.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120169.jpg

Piece 3
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120170.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120171.jpg

Page 4
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120176.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120177.jpg

Piece 5
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120178.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120179.jpg

Piece 6
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120180.jpg

Piece 7
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120183.jpg

Piece 8
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120184.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1120185.jpg

[daphilster08]

Nice work man. Clean them up, bake em up, or do what you have to do and they are going to look great! I have to hit up the North Shore on Lake Superior now that it is a bit warmer out!

[NeonFlux]

Nice pieces! Going to sell some?

[FastFly67]

Jinx is going to be one lucky lady

[snoopy65]

Very nice wood!!! Now I have to go down to the lake and see what winter has pushed up on or near shore.

[BioHazard]

Very nice wood!!! Now I have to go down to the lake and see what winter has pushed up on or near shore.

That was my thought too. We've had a couple floods, and a lot of variable water levels with all the snow, so it's been great for driftwood hunting.

[BioHazard]

Nice work man. Clean them up, bake em up, or do what you have to do and they are going to look great! I have to hit up the North Shore on Lake Superior now that it is a bit warmer out!

Yeah, they are gonna need a bit of work. I got a piece of the same stuff at the same place earlier, and it wasn't too bad to clean up. I'll have to scrub it really well, and peel some of the bark off, pick dirt out of the holes, and spray it off really well. It should look really nice when it's done.

[msjinkzd]

they are sweet! I woud lbe interested in purchasing some (would need to see them in person to get an idea of dimension) :D

[snoopy65]

Every spring I find some nice pieces. Hopefully, this year will be the same.

[BioHazard]

they are sweet! I woud lbe interested in purchasing some (would need to see them in person to get an idea of dimension) :D

Purchase. HA! Don't make me laugh, woman. I seem to remember a little bumblebee cat...and amanos... and plants... and a green lace shrimp...and snails...and shellies...and constant advice and comments on my numerous and often inane posts...

[Rbishop]

pressure washer works well to clean that stuff up...

[BioHazard]

pressure washer works well to clean that stuff up...

Wish I had one! My version of 'pressure washer' involves something to pry bark and dirt off, a scrubby brush and a garden hose, lol.
If MsJinkzd has one, I'll use it when I drag the wood down.

[plecoman]

I am going to have to head to the lake myself. Those are nice pieces of driftwood! What one can do, another can do! LOL..... :nutkick:

[The Zigman]

Nice stuff...

Hmm there is a pond far in the woods behind my house. I'll be taking the 6 wheeler out there this spring to see what i can find.

[MadAboutCichlid]

Nice pieces. Can't wait for thaw here.

[odinthejd]

I am gonna have to take a adventure and see what I can find

[eddiebait]

It sounds as you are giving everyone the bug to get out and explore a shoreline--me too!

[NorthcoastGirl]

Wow, those are seriously awesome pieces! They look great positioned up in the back of a tank, like tree roots coming down to a riverbank.

I'll be waiting until the weather warms up a bit more to go a'foraging. This has been a bad season for my arthritis. =(

[msjinkzd]

Wish I had one! My version of 'pressure washer' involves something to pry bark and dirt off, a scrubby brush and a garden hose, lol.
If MsJinkzd has one, I'll use it when I drag the wood down.

we do have one :)

[Dexmaster]

So I have a few questions when it comes to collecting driftwood. How do you go about knowing if the wood is safe for the home aquarium? How do you know if the wood isnt gunna just disintegrate in a few months in a tank as well? I have never collected driftwood before so and tips and advice would be awesome thanks for sharing the pics and lighting the fires under some butts to go out and enjoy some nature!

[BioHazard]

So I have a few questions when it comes to collecting driftwood. How do you go about knowing if the wood is safe for the home aquarium? How do you know if the wood isnt gunna just disintegrate in a few months in a tank as well? I have never collected driftwood before so and tips and advice would be awesome thanks for sharing the pics and lighting the fires under some butts to go out and enjoy some nature!

Wow,looks like we are going to have a deluge of "Look at what I found!" threads!! Awesome!

Alrighty, now for your questions.
Knowing the wood is safe has a lot to do with knowing where you got it from. If you are collecting right downstream of a waste treatment plant, you could be getting some nasty stuff in your wood. Most of the nasties can be taken care of with a good boiling, but chemicals and such tend to last not matter what you do. You can find out the quality of the water in an area a couple different ways. The easy way is to shoot an email to your state water services, like the fish and game, and ask them about the area you are looking to collect from. If you want to spend more time and find it out yourself, you can sample the benthic macroinvertebates and calculate the EPT ratio, or do a family level study.
Something like this (http://www.ucratx.org/Benthic%20worksheets.pdf)could help you do a study of your own.However, it is not likely to be as accurate as the long term data the state will have.
a lot of times, you can use common sense to get a general idea of water quality. Is the water cloudy or smelly? Are there dead fish on the banks? Is there garbage and scum in the water? Are the only insects in the water worms, midges and snails? All that would be a bad sign.
To make sure the wood is not just going to disentagrate, you need to find really HARD wood. I am often dissapointed to find an awesome looking piece that crumbles in my hand. If you can easily jab a fingernail into the wood, it is too soft. You want it as hard as possible, so it will last a long time. Soft wood isn't inherently BAD, but it will break down very quickly nd make a hugemess in your tank. If the wood is mostly hard, with just a few soft spots, you can cut off or gouge out the soft areas.
Once you get your wood, it will still need to be cleaned really well. The first thing I do is take a garden hose to it. As Rbishop mentioned, a power sprayer would be ideal. Get a rough brush as scrub scrub scrub. Then, I let it dry COMPLETELY. A large, water logged piece is going to take a while, but leaving it in the sun will speed up the process. Then, if possible, you want to boil it. However, with large pieces, this may not be feasable. In that case, a good, long soak is advisable. This removes tannins, and waterlogs the wood so it will sink.
After that, you are good to go! :)

[Dexmaster]

Thanks a bunch BioHazard it will help me on my quest!

[-[AnThOnY]-]

finally got decently warm last week, and i finally went down to a local river to collect some fish and came back with one fish and 25+ peices of wood that filled the bed of my truck >,< one peice was amazing about a mile from my truck but weighed about 60 pounds wet so im hoping when i go back itll be dray and not so heavy LOL i love driftwood

[ROYWS3]

Bio, I see the Bloom U sticker on your car - is that where you got these?
Roy

[Ballyhoo]

I'll be going to Lake Erie to hunt some driftwood too :D

[bgourami320]

Nice wood! Ha, I've only got Prospect Park Lake to check out, not much bigger then my bathtub! I guess that's city living. A friend always laughs at me for buying wood:) I'd love to take a ride upstate and find some nice driftwook this spring, good reason to get out of the city!

[koldsoup]

Nice wood! Ha, I've only got Prospect Park Lake to check out, not much bigger then my bathtub! I guess that's city living. A friend always laughs at me for buying wood:) I'd love to take a ride upstate and find some nice driftwook this spring, good reason to get out of the city!

Haha. Agreed! Is there anything there in the lake at all? I haven't been there in forever.

Any new pics? :D

[rufioman]

Nice job! Those look like some awesome pieces.