Driftwood ...

[DaveyGSXR]

i was down near the ocean today and i picked up some nice driftwood i know not to just throw it in my tank but how long do i let it soak for in warm water or in boiling water ? any ideas ? thanks Davey

 

[Blinky]

Boiling it for an hour should kill any nasties living within. You might want to soak it in addition, some people soak for about a week, changing the water often. This, in addition to boiling, can help the wood take on water and sink in your aquarium.

 

[Watcher74]

I'm curious

Why would you change the water that you are soaking the driftwood in?

 

[Fishsmurf]

I change the soaking water just to get rid of any tannins in the "older" soaking water, then replace with clean water. That way by the time it goes into the tank hopefully all the tannin has leached out and there is no water dis-colouration in the tank.

 

[ChicoRaton]

ditto. I put driftwood in a big pot on the stove for a couple days at the lowest setting, changing the water every few hours. overkill, but leaches all of the tannins and makes it waterlogged pretty quickly.

 

[MyShrimpDied]

I simply boiled mine 1' 6" piece of driftwood for 24 minutes, haven't had any water discoloration and it looks great, but I would go with what the other guys said:

Originally posted by ChicoRaton
overkill

Always better

~ MyShrimpDied

 

[125gJoe]

Just a note ..

Make sure none of the driftwood is soft. That's a sign of rotting wood and that's not a good idea..