Driftwood

[Crazybob]

hi, i just bought some driftwood. when i got home i put it in a bucket and am currently soaking it in water.. how long should i leave it in there? i put it in cold water, should i put hot water in it? thanks for the help

crazybob

 

[helterskelter]

I use boiling water to kill any bugs on it and it helps to leach tannins quicker.
If the water turns brown quite quickly then it means the tannins will leach quite quickly and your get brown water, this is only removed with water changes but it's harmless to fish most of the time.

Some wood produce no tannins although i had some that turned the water brown for nearly 12 months and that was doing 30% water change every other week.

If the wood floats then soak in water till it sinks

 

[madmom]

As helterskelter says use boiling water. It will kill most bacteria and speed up the process. Heat opens the pores of the wood allowing air ro escape and water to soak in faster. As to how long it will take it depends on the size of the wood as well as what type of wood it is and the wood density. It can take as little as a few days to as long as a few months. Good Luck.

 

[raptorrex]

boiling will sort out any bugs and nasties, though i must admit to never doing it. as for sinking, that will be up to the type of wood, mopani, a dense wood, will often sink right away, softer woods may take some persuading. possibly even weighting. Tannins, as stated they are no sort of danger to your fish or inverts, quite the opposite is true, often they are beneficial to your stock. its us that don't like the look. though water changes will slowly clear it out over time.