Home-made Driftwood

[Chuka1212]

Hey all!
I just went down to a river close by and collected some pieces of driftwood. I was wondering about how to go about getting them in the tank. I figure I should boil them for a while to kill any bad critters on them. How long should I boil them for? The problem is that they are VERY bouyant still. Anyone have any tips on sinking them(ie what I could use/do to make them heavier)? I also would like to try to connect a few pieces together, but not sure what to use to connect them. I saw some in a friend's tank that used a hot glue gun to connect pieces... I thought that was risky business because I'm not sure if there are bad chems in the glue... Anyways, feedback would be appreciated!!!

 

[*Fishkies*]

I'm not sure as to how to sink it but I know that you can use hot glue. I have used hot glue before in my tank and it is perfectly fine with the fish. I believe that that is what they use on certain fish items that you buy at the store.

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

You can use aquarium sealant, they sell it at most LFS/LPS and it's completely aquarium safe.

 

[celaeno]

i've read that 100% silicone without additives is also safe. you could use that to glue on some gravel to sink it.

 

[Chuka1212]

Hey Thanks. Good Ideas everybody.

 

[Bozza]

Could glue it to a big rock and make it stand up in different positions. Sorry sorta stole the thought from celaeno

 

[gpgscott]

Yes the hot glue and the silcone are safe for the fish, no they will not adhere to the wood. The only practical way to go about this is to take a flat piece of rock, slate works best, drill a hole and secure the wood with screws. The boiling you refer to will not only kill anything hitchhiking but will open the pore of the wood and allow it to absorb water faster. Scott

 

[beechey]

u could always drill some slate to the bottom

 

[Chuka1212]

Yes the hot glue and the silcone are safe for the fish, no they will not adhere to the wood. The only practical way to go about this is to take a flat piece of rock, slate works best, drill a hole and secure the wood with screws. The boiling you refer to will not only kill anything hitchhiking but will open the pore of the wood and allow it to absorb water faster. Scott

Ok, I slate would be great, but any ideas on where I would buy a small chunk of slate? Seems like it would be sort of hard to find. And about the screws, should I be putting metal into the water? I heard that you should put pieces of metal like that in the water... or else that would be a simple solution I suppose. And it sounds like hot glue is safe, unless I hear otherwise.

 

[Gazoo]

Yes the hot glue and the silcone are safe for the fish, no they will not adhere to the wood. The only practical way to go about this is to take a flat piece of rock, slate works best, drill a hole and secure the wood with screws. The boiling you refer to will not only kill anything hitchhiking but will open the pore of the wood and allow it to absorb water faster. Scott

Ok, I slate would be great, but any ideas on where I would buy a small chunk of slate? Seems like it would be sort of hard to find. And about the screws, should I be putting metal into the water? I heard that you should put pieces of metal like that in the water... or else that would be a simple solution I suppose. And it sounds like hot glue is safe, unless I hear otherwise.

I'm with gpqscott and beechey about using slate to add weight. If you use galvanized screws they won't rust.

 

[gpgscott]

Slate is available at any garden center or home improvement store Lowes, etc... Use either galvanized or SS screws both will corrode over time the galvanized is common steel coated with zinc, the amount of metals leached into the aquarium will be so small over such a length of time as to be insignificant. The hot glue will not even adhere to wet wood, it will adhere to dry and shortly after you submerge it it will turn loose. Go for the slate it's hard to beat the look of a nice natural piece of wood in the tank IMO. Scott

 

[NoRp]

if u tie it down in a bucket after a while it will become water logged and sink like a rock
a hollow rock made from some kind of heavy plastic but a rock non the less

 

[Tolak]

I've always used slate & ss screws. Check a garden center for slate, any hardware store will have ss screws & a bit to drill through the slate. Slate is pretty soft as far as rocks go, you can drill through a 3/4" piece in a couple of minutes.

 

[Chuka1212]

Awsome, thanks guys. Slate it is, I'll check around some stores today, I do have one more driftwood question...
I was reading a book that said putting wood into the aquarium was bad because it could rot and leave toxins in the water, it said only "cured" bogwood should be put in....? Any thought about that? I've seen loads of tank with wood in it so I was a bit confused

 

[beechey]

u will get a slightly tea coloured water untill the tanis wheres off , depending on the size of your wood to how long it takes,

but its fine to put wood into your aqurium, but i would soak it in the bath overnight first with hot water....