Sanitizing Drift Wood

[BrookeLea]

As mentioned in another thread, my brother found a nice, big piece of drift wood and brought it to me to put in my tank. I'm concerned as to how safe the wood is, as there's a good bit of sap on it. I'm not sure what kind of tree it came from or if the sap is even coming from the piece that I have, or if it rubbed off of something else. I've taken a few pictures of the piece, but I can't post them until my fiance gets home because I don't know where he put the card reader. I'll post them ASAP.

Is there a way to sanitize the wood? I'd like to be able to use it, so long as I can make it safe.

 

[yvez9]

if it fits in the microwave, that's the way to go

otherwise, i'm not sure. Maybe pouring boiling water on it everyday for a week or two...

 

[BrookeLea]

if it fits in the microwave, that's the way to go

otherwise, i'm not sure. Maybe pouring boiling water on it everyday for a week or two...

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haha I wish I could fit it in the microwave...or in a pot to boil it, but it's at least 4 ft long...soooo both those options are a no-go. Maybe pouring boiling water would work...

 

[guppymonkey]

Thats a pretty big piece of driftwood that would be a large tank to put that in. The best way to sanitize driftwood is to boil it. It sanitizes the wood and makes it sink. But your piece is a little big for boiling though....

 

[simonbrown403]

If your setting up your tank you could put the wood in the tank and change the water regular

 

[BrookeLea]

If your setting up your tank you could put the wood in the tank and change the water regular

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I'm actually in the process of re-setting up my tank. I'm taking all the marbles out and putting in sand and some river rocks (and hopefully the driftwood) to make it look more natural.

The tank is being moved here from my old house, 4 hours away, and won't be here until tomorrow night. I just washed the sand today. I'm thinking of maybe soaking the driftwood in a big plastic tub outside, but that doesn't sound like it's going to do much sanitizing...

 

[Teelie]

If you boil the wood for too long, it will disintegrate. I would soak it in some kind of mild anti-bacterial solution for a few days, then let it soak for a few weeks in clean water changed every week.

 

[BrookeLea]

If you boil the wood for too long, it will disintegrate. I would soak it in some kind of mild anti-bacterial solution for a few days, then let it soak for a few weeks in clean water changed every week.

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I'm sure it's a stupid question...but could you give me an example of an anti-bacterial solution?

 

[xamdarb]

you could cut it into four peices with a saw microwave them and then find some way to reatach it so it looks good if silcone sticks that could be good or screws

 

[BrookeLea]

you could cut it into four peices with a saw microwave them and then find some way to reatach it so it looks good if silcone sticks that could be good or screws

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Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about doing that, but I'm scared to cut it up, as I don't want to ruin it. Maybe if I were a little braver...

 

[Mordinbar]

If you soak it in a light bleach solution in cold water, it will sanitize it,

Then when you feel it is safe, hot water dissolves and denatures bleach, so just rinse it with hot water couple times a day for a few days and it should be good to go.

-MOrd

 

[Teelie]

Antibacterial would be things like Maracyn and the usual fish meds or bleach though with bleach, I would be careful using it with wood. Wood might soak some of the bleach in it then re-release it or become damaged. Letting the wood dry thoroughly or baking it in high heat should help to evaporate it though and IMO bleach is a good kill-all solution to use if you wash everything then let it dry completely first.

Don't use any kind of bleach with additives though. Just pure bleach or bleach cut with water are what you should look for. Whichever it is you use, don't use more than I think it's 1 part bleach to 3 parts water. Even that might be too strong. I've never had to soak anything in bleach like that before.

 

[Snowman]

What i would do is cut the piece into 4, where you have cut drill a hole and use a piece of dowel to put it back together, you could use a couple of pieces of dowel to give the joins extra strength if you choose to.
Drill in to one piece and place a small amount of water based paint (or something that will leave a mark on the other piece) around the hole then press the two pieces together and that will show you where to drill the hole in the other piece so that it lines up perfectly.

 

[BrookeLea]

What i would do is cut the piece into 4, where you have cut drill a hole and use a piece of dowel to put it back together, you could use a couple of pieces of dowel to give the joins extra strength if you choose to.
Drill in to one piece and place a small amount of water based paint (or something that will leave a mark on the other piece) around the hole then press the two pieces together and that will show you where to drill the hole in the other piece so that it lines up perfectly.

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That's a great idea! But I'm still chicken...

 

[LoachLover]

All I had to do was clean it very well and then soak it in boiling water about 4 times, then I soaked it till it would sink, then I put it in boiling water again.