[ElvishDuck]

Hello,

First time posting, however I've been gleaning off this site for a while now. I used to keep tanks (both freshwater and saltwater) several years ago and then got out of the hobby. I'm now in the process of planning of 20L low tech planted setup. I've read many conflicting things on how to treat driftwood and rocks before placing in the tank; from picked them out of the lake and straight into the tank to boiling and bleaching for several sessions. Is there a general consensus here on how to sterilize your DIY hardscapes? I was thinking about putting the rocks and driftwood in a 5 gallon bucket of water with a tablespoon or two of bleach and letting that sit for a day. Then rinsing it all, letting it dry, and then resoaking until it sinks (the wood that is ). Thoughts? Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[ProudPapa]

I'm firmly in the "rinse it with a hose and drop it in the tank" camp, but your plan sounds like it should be okay.

 

[CoveBeach]

I think it really depends on where the wood comes from and what type it is. Mine were purchased from the LFS and were a very dark wood. I soaked mine in a 40 gal drum to get them to sink. Within a day the water was the darkest tea you can imagine. So if i had just dropped themin i would have had a mess. I drained the drum and re-filled it and added a circulating pump and 3 cups of un scented bleach and covered it and put it out in the sun. I left it for a week or so then drained and replaced with clean water and no bleach. Changed out the water till it cleared. After all this, the stuff still floated! I ended up using slate tiles with a hole drilled in them and stainless screws to hold them down.

 

[minorhero]

You will see a lot of inconsistent results for this because people do a lot of different things, most of it is unnecessary.

Anything we care about not getting into the tank is going to fall into one of three categories. 1) animals, 2) algae, and 3) harmful bacteria. For the first one, squirting it off with a hose (or sink) and checking it to make sure there are no cocoons on it will work great. For the latter, they can not survive without moisture. If the rocks/wood are dry then they are free of live algae and bacteria.

That said, I boil all my wood because it helps remove tannins and makes it sink right away (if I put it right in the tank after it cools down).

 

[CoveBeach]

I would have boiled mine but i could not find a cauldron big enough lol. Had to go with a 40 gal Brute garbage can.

 

[ROCKgurl]

I have small pieces of a dense dark wood I purchased online for aquariums. I boiled it and drained and rinsed it, then placed it in my tank. I do regular water changes and do not see much discoloration. I would like to try local wood, but am unclear on safe species.