Driftwood Prep??

Thanks guys for the warning. The peice I have is large but nowhere near
large enough to crack my tank, unless it expands to 3 times its width!! I will
definitely pour boiling water over it to kill any bad stuff. When it was in the garbage can it was sinking to the bottom so I dont think I will have a problem
with it floating. I will get a picture of it up soon so you guys can see what Im talking about.
 
Man, I can't find that site anywhere.

Okay, it's either an entire forum or a thread on a fish site that had all these bad luck/horror stories from people. Pretty cool stuff.

If anyone finds it, please post.

Thanks!
Roan
 
you could also scrub it with bleach. let it soak in the bathtub with a cup of two of bleach for a day or so (or in the trash can)

then rinse the can out, rinse the driftwood off, and put it back in the trashcan with fresh water, and add twice the normal amount of dechlor. let it soak for a couple weeks.
 
Are you sure I should clean it with bleach? I cleaned some tank stuff with bleach then soaked it and rinsed and it killed a few of my fish I think. So I have stayed away from bleach lately. Maybe a couple of cups in a garbage can full of water might not be too bad like you said.

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep em coming.
 
my LFS cleans all its decor in bleach, lets it soak, then rinses, adds fresh water with double dechlorinator, and everythings cool. they've been doing it like that for years. i've cleaned my betta tanks with bleach, let it dry completely, and never had any problems. just make sure you either let it dry completely (not good with driftwood because it would take FOREVER to dry, and your trying to get it full of water anyway) but if you added the bleach right away, then added the double dechlor not long after that, maybe an hour, it would kill anything ON or in the wood, and the dechlor would get rid of the bleach (make sure its chlorine bleach). add another dose of dechlor every week and let it soak for a good long time, like a month maybe. by then, all the bleach should have evaporated or been neutralized by the dechlor (change the water periodically, like every week)

OR, you could take it out of the water completely, just scrub it really well with bleach in the bathtub, remove any loose pieces of bark of chunks of wood that are flaking off and scrub out all the nookes and craneys with bleach (no soap though!) and then rinse really well, then drop it back in fresh clean water with double dechlor and let it soak.

that second way would be safer if your concerned about it. i'm just thinking bleach because you can neutralize it with dechlor, it kills EVERYTHING, so it will kill any bugs, bacteria, or parasites on the wood, and if you use the second way, its only touching the outside and wont have any time to really soak into the wood and you can just rinse it off, then use the dechlor to remove any traces that might be left.

you could also use vinegar. just dump a few cups if vinegar in the garbage can with the wood and let it soak. rinse it really well and clean out the can after a couple days and let it finish soaking, change the water every few days or once a week.

but you should still scrub the wood really well to get any loose bits of bark off that bugs might be hiding under, and clean out any small nooks and craneys stuff could be hiding in.
 
i would not use bleach to clean any real wood .. it would just soak it up and would take forever to leach out .. if it does at all.. just use the hot water thing .. leaving it in the bathtub with the shower head on hot would work great .. that water is hot enough to do the job.. bleach on plastic/resin stuff would be ok cause it wouldnt soak it up .. just dont do it on wood ..

Marn
 
Since you think the shower water should be hot enough that would be the easiest for me to do. I was kind of sketchy about letting bleach soak into the
wood. I will probably just spray it with bleach while its in the shower. Its a SOLID peice of oak, There is no more loose bark as I have been going at it with the dremel. Im in the process of cutting a big hole in the middle now and I havnt seen one bug or critter yet. There are still some charred portions on the back that I will try to get off but Im not sure if thats a big deal.
 
What kind of wood?

Personally, I would not put a piece of wood that you found in your backyard in my tank, I would buy from a dealer that specializes in wood for aquariums.

But if you insist on using this piece of wood, you should try to find some way to boil it. Just pooring hot water over it will not get rid of the little bugs and critters living deep in it's core. Bleach might, but you will need to soak it a while.

Also, remember that wood will rot and decay just like anything else and a year from now you could have a ammonia spike and your fish will be belly up. Some kinds of wood rot faster than others. I have a piece of malasyian driftwood in my tank for my pleco to chew on and it is not supposed to rot very quickly, but it will eventually have to be replaced.

I dunno, I am just an novice but I did a lot of reading and most sources advised against just picking up a piece of wood from your backyard.
 
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I understand the part about the wood may rot, but I think that is years and years away. What do retailers do to prepare wood for sale? Does anyone know? I don't know if the shower thing will work. The hottest tap water supposedly comes out is 150F which is 62 degrees shy of boiling, not close enough I think.

What about pouring hydrogen peroxide on it? It kills germs on contact and I dont think its as harmfull as bleach. Anyone?
 
I wonder if you could bake it? Is it too large to put in an oven? I know it would have to be low heat and watched carefully I'm sure.

Kim
 
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