driftwood question

1762 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by PlantedRich, Sep 11, 2012

Razorworm

Discussion Starter · Sep 10, 2012

I found this awsome piece of drift wood on the bank of a lake nearby. It is vert weathered and worn. I think it is some type of evergreen ( pine?) . It is now soaking in bleach water. Is this type of wood sutable for an aquarium or will it quickly rot?

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BBradbury

· #2 · Sep 10, 2012

Preparing Driftwood for the Tank

Razorworm said:
I found this awsome piece of drift wood on the bank of a lake nearby. It is vert weathered and worn. I think it is some type of evergreen ( pine?) . It is now soaking in bleach water. Is this type of wood sutable for an aquarium or will it quickly rot?

Hello Razor...

Bleaching driftwood wouldn't be my first choice of ways to prep driftwood. Bleach is extremely toxic to fish and the piece will soak up the chemical like a sponge.

I'd toss that piece and get another. Then, simply rinse it well with the pressure nozzle attached to your garden hose and then leave it out in the sun to dry for a couple of days. This time of year, the sun's rays will be more than enough to kill any bacteria.

While you're looking for a replacement piece, you'll need to pick up some large rocks to weigh the wood down in the tank, but that's part of the fun of aquascaping.

B

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Kathyy

· #3 · Sep 10, 2012

Now that it has been soaking for a bit stick your fingernail in it. If it is spongy throughout, toss it. If it is a bit soft but hard underneath it is a keeper.

Most collected wood is of unknown lineage and lasts fine underwater. Do consider the waterway however. Unless the water is clean enough to eat the fish it may be high in chemical undesirables.

Bleach is very poisonous but it is also easily removed by dechlor as well as dissipates on its own quite rapidly. The reason water companies put chloramine in water now is because it lasts much longer than chlorine which is all bleach is. So don't toss the wood but next time I would just scrape or powerwash it down to the hard stuff. Put the wood into a tub with dechlor or just let it dry in the sun until the smell of bleach is gone.

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Diana

· #4 · Sep 10, 2012

Ditto Kathyy:
Soak with dechlor then sun dry.

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PlantedRich

· #5 · Sep 10, 2012

The hysteria about bleach is just a lack of understanding. Bleach will soak into wood but have you ever heard of something that will soak in but not dry out? Chlorine is by nature a gas which reacts very well with all organics like wood. Keeping chlorine in wood is like trying to keep fire in a cardboard box! It is going to react with the wood until one or the other is gone. The reason bleach is best is because it DOES react with oils or chemicals that the wood may have picked up. Wood that is boiled is just wood with boiled oil on it.
Cedar or any wood is safe to use most of the time but it does take some judgment and knowledge of your water to predict the result. If your water has little buffering, the wood
MAY drop your PH. If you have high PH /low buffering, this may be a bigger change than you want so you may want to watch more closely. High PH with lots of buffer, you may never seen anything change. That is almost the definition of buffer.

If it is cedar and it is truly dry and well weathered, it is quite possible you will see no change and it will not rot very quickly. I use lots of cedar in my tanks.

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BreakingBread

· #6 · Sep 10, 2012

good information guys!

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Razorworm

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 11, 2012

Thank's everyone! I started soaking it over a week ago. I tested the water for cl last night. Got a 0 reading. Rinsing it today and putting it in fresh water to see if it goes soft or...whatever. It is quite buoyant so I want to see if it will become less so. Really a nice piece with a ton of character.

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DogFish

· #8 · Sep 11, 2012

I think you will be fine with it.

I would get a Ceramic Drill bit and 12x12" Ceramic Floor Tile or a Pc. of Slate to use as a base. Drill a hole or two and
use a SS Screw(s) to attach. Depending on how close or high out of the substrate and if the screws might be visible. You can use silicone to glue rocks or pebbles around the screws. Or even use a small rock between the driftwood and base to create a pitch in the driftwood.

Seems like all the good driftwood I see around here, were we live, is only accessible by boat.

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PlantedRich

· #9 · Sep 11, 2012

Plastic zip ties are another handy way to get rocks and wood together when you don't want the fasteners showing.
In looking at the way nature piles thing in lakes and rivers, I often find rocks on top of wood with an assortment of debris mixed in so it works for me to do the same in my tanks.
In my first picture the wood is tied to the rock with zip ties but in the second, the big limestone rock "just happened" to land on top of the wood. As big and dry as those pieces were, I don't think they would have every sunk by themselves.

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