I just got a piece of driftwood from the fish store. I was wondering how long I should keep it soaking. Like until the water is clear?
How long to keep driftwood soaking?
- Thread starter NJ Devils Fan
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If it is a real piece of driftwood, and it has a slate screwed to the bottom for grounded it, let it soak for maybe a couple days or even more depending on the piece, if you want the peat to come out so when added to the tank so it won't turn the water brown. If it's a fake piece, just rinse it off with hot water and put it in. If it's more of a top-heavy piece, soak it for a very long time! I had so much bad luck with a top heavy piece that I ended up throwing away because I got so frustrated! it kept floating up, and no matter how much I burried it, the piece would not stay on the bottom on the tank!
I soaked mine in boiling water until it stopped looking like tea.
One caveat: I tend to distinguish between bog-wood (wood from a swamp) from driftwood (wood that's been floating in the ocean). Under those definitions I would think that driftwood would require other treatment to remove salt. But I may be way off here, since it seems as if most people around here use the terms interchangeably.
One caveat: I tend to distinguish between bog-wood (wood from a swamp) from driftwood (wood that's been floating in the ocean). Under those definitions I would think that driftwood would require other treatment to remove salt. But I may be way off here, since it seems as if most people around here use the terms interchangeably.
Yea, it's real and has a slate piece screwed to the bottom to keep it down. Should I keep changing the water until it no longer is brown?
I've got a rather large piece that is bigger in the middle. I soaked it in a tall garbage can with a plastic bag in it. I kept filling it full of hot water and tying the top of the bag. It still took about 9 days and then when I put it in the tank I still had to wedge a rock on to keep it down for about another week. Thing still floats if all of the gravel gets moved off the slate (been in water for a year now).
Be Patient and good luck.
Be Patient and good luck.
Boil it - or if its too big, put it in a big container and pour the hottest water you can on it.
Change the water frequently til the tannins stop leaching. then soak it some more.
The hot water helps saturate the wood quicker - helping the piece to sink. That said, depending on how big the piece is, you may want to soak it for a week or two or more. I had a pretty big piece (you can see it in my tank pics in the link below) - that I soaked for 3 days - first day I changed water several times. It still wanted to float when I started setting up my tank. For another reason (problems with my sump plumbing), I had to disassemble the tank - so I soaked it for about 3 weeks in a large garbage can (I didn't bother changing the water that often). When I set the tank up again, it was saturated enough to no longer float once I put gravel on the slate. If I didn't have the gravel though - it would likely still have floated
Change the water frequently til the tannins stop leaching. then soak it some more.
The hot water helps saturate the wood quicker - helping the piece to sink. That said, depending on how big the piece is, you may want to soak it for a week or two or more. I had a pretty big piece (you can see it in my tank pics in the link below) - that I soaked for 3 days - first day I changed water several times. It still wanted to float when I started setting up my tank. For another reason (problems with my sump plumbing), I had to disassemble the tank - so I soaked it for about 3 weeks in a large garbage can (I didn't bother changing the water that often). When I set the tank up again, it was saturated enough to no longer float once I put gravel on the slate. If I didn't have the gravel though - it would likely still have floated
superstein61, my driftwood is about a foot and a half high by like 4-5 inches wide. I got home with it around 2 p.m. or so, and started soaking it in hot water in an old garbage pail for about 30 minutes or so. Then, I dumped the water out and did it again for about 1 hour or so, then i dumped it out and left it for a few hours until about 7:45 or so, and dumped the water out. I got a giant pot filled with water and boiled it, then dumped it in the pail. I did that about 5 times so that the whole piece was covered(I had to put a bottle of apple juice on it so that it didn't float up). That where it is now. The water is still very hot(almost 3 hours later). I really can't even leave my hand in it. Tomorrow morning, I will do it again, and tomorrow night, again.
This is what I was going to tell you yesterday but couldn't sinse AC went on hiatus.
"This morning, I put fresh boiling water in the fail an put the bottle of apple juice on it again to keep it down. At around 2 p.m., I took the wood out and attempted to put it in the tank. I sifted the heavy slate piece under the sand, but the wood didn't stay down, no matter how many times I thought I had it. So, I took it out and put it back in the pail with new hot water and it's been there all day"
Just now(about 3:30 p.m.) I took the wood out, dumped the water, and put fresh hot water in(put the apple juice on top again). It's getting better though because it's not shooting up as fast as it was yesterday. I'll probably try again tomorrow. Oh, the water doesn't turn tea color anymore.
"This morning, I put fresh boiling water in the fail an put the bottle of apple juice on it again to keep it down. At around 2 p.m., I took the wood out and attempted to put it in the tank. I sifted the heavy slate piece under the sand, but the wood didn't stay down, no matter how many times I thought I had it. So, I took it out and put it back in the pail with new hot water and it's been there all day"
Just now(about 3:30 p.m.) I took the wood out, dumped the water, and put fresh hot water in(put the apple juice on top again). It's getting better though because it's not shooting up as fast as it was yesterday. I'll probably try again tomorrow. Oh, the water doesn't turn tea color anymore.
NJ - yes, its gonna take a while - I think at least a week, probably more with that size piece til it gets waterlogged enough to not want to float up. However, after another day or so you could probably put it in your tank, put the apple juice or a big brick/rock on top of it and cover the slate with sand (I say this knowing you are still setting up/ cycling the tank). But its probably easier if you leave it out and keep up what you are doing
