I would like to get a piece of driftwood for my tank to soften the water a little(and they look cool). Can you you use driftwood from the river? If so whats the best way to clean it.
Driftwood?
- Thread starter Bugman
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hot water and a stiff brush, maby even a little bleach and water. Just make shure you rinse it extremely well before you enter it into your aquarium.
also wouldn't hurt to make shure you check all the holes and ect.. in the drift wood to make shure your not introducing anything negative into your aquarium
thats what i'v always done...
also wouldn't hurt to make shure you check all the holes and ect.. in the drift wood to make shure your not introducing anything negative into your aquarium
thats what i'v always done...
if you use bleach, then afterwards soak the driftwood in saltwater (and i mean very salty)
let it soak for an hour or so, then soak it in CONDITIONED tap water.
the salt will pull the bleach out of the wood, and then the freshwater will pull the salt out of the wood.
and you'll have a nicely prepared driftwood.
let it soak for an hour or so, then soak it in CONDITIONED tap water.
the salt will pull the bleach out of the wood, and then the freshwater will pull the salt out of the wood.
and you'll have a nicely prepared driftwood.
The driftwood will lose it's ability to soften the water pretty quickly. once the initial tannins leach out. it won't release much acid. as far as the looking cool part, it is great for that. I use a lot of driftwood in most of my tanks. and just for the record my PH is forever in the 7.6-7.8 range.
As far as cleaning, brush and water, boil it if you are worried about creepy things living in it. but remember boiling will also help remove the tannins that soften the water.
I bought a piece of driftwood a while back, and put it in a bucket of water to get the tannins out (didn't want to turn my tank brown). I used a 5 gallon bucket (small piece of wood), filled it w/ water, let the wood sit for 2 days, then changed the water and let it sit for another 2 days, then change the water yet again, and it's been sitting in there for 2 days now and the water is still clear.
So if it's the actual tannins that lower the ph, they will be gone sooner rather than later. Although I will admit, the wood will look very cool in the tank (I can't wait to redo my tank on Saturday!)
Good luck!
~Tara
So if it's the actual tannins that lower the ph, they will be gone sooner rather than later. Although I will admit, the wood will look very cool in the tank (I can't wait to redo my tank on Saturday!)
Good luck!
~Tara
I found a piece that is awesome but very big and heavy. How much weight is too much. I would estimate that it weighs 25-30lbs soaking wet. It would take up alot of space in my 55 gal. I think the fish would love it. It's hollow with holes everywhere(really cool). I've thought about cutting it in two but may hurt look.
