How To Treat Drift Wood?

[mrstwalker]

Hi guys, I found some really lovely pieces of drift wood by the river. They are completely dried out and dead. It is my first experience with drift wood, and I have never bought drift wood, so I really have no idea where to begin with treating it. Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

 

[LyraGuppi]

Have any idea what type of wood they are?

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

I would recommend boiling the peices of wood first (30 mins to 1 hour is what I do), to kill any bacteria or any organisms that might be hiding. The next step would be scrubing the wood after it's cooled down, followed by another boil. Once that's done I soak it salt water and  do a final a rinse off and soak in dechlorinated water. That's pretty much what works for me.

 

[mrstwalker]

Have any idea what type of wood they are?

No, unfortunately I wasnt paying attention to what type of trees were around me when I found it. It was up sort of in this cavern/ rock over hang by the river so I am thinking it floated down river from a flood several months ago to be as high in that cavern as it was and to be totally dried out. 
But finding out what trees are in that area will give me a better idea I suppose.

 

[attibones]

You need to make sure it is hard wood before it goes in a tank. Is there any bark left on the piece or is it all gone by now?

 

[mrstwalker]

You need to make sure it is hard wood before it goes in a tank. Is there any bark left on the piece or is it all gone by now?

No bark at all. And completely solid.

 

[attibones]

Then the best way to make sure it is okay is to throw it in some water (not the tank yet, of course!). You'll want to soak it in some water, boiling or otherwise, and see what happens. With woods like Mopani, which are rich in tannins, I don't soak these. I just rinse with scalding water and then place in the tank. But this suits the types of aquariums I keep. Because this is a mystery wood (and I pic may be helpful, maybe someone can ID it for you??), I would soak it for a while, rinse it with hot water, basically do what Dom said. If the wood feels mushy or soft in any place, discard the wood because it is rotten and will decay in your tank and cause problems.