Soaking Driftwood..

[Rhiannon]

Must driftwood be soaked in water WITH dechlorinator before being added to the tank, or can it just be soaked in normal water.

Thanks

 

[SuperColey1]

Must driftwood be soaked in water WITH dechlorinator before being added to the tank, or can it just be soaked in normal water.

Thanks

Its up to you really. it should really be soaked just to make sure there's no 'baddies' on it.

I just leave it in a bucket for 24 hours then put it in the tank. Word of warning this does release tannins and turns your water a brown colour which over the months will disappear with the water changes. I like the colour because it is more natural but its up to personal preference.

A lot of people boil the wood for a few hours and apparently this will release most of the tannins although some will still seep out. Some people soak it for weeks and weeks.

I've also heard that the tannins have natural goodness in them and are beneficial to the fish, but I can't back this statement up as I only read it on here, although quite a few times.

 

[highfire]

I currently have two pieces of driftwood soaking in my utility room sink, ready to go in my new aquarium.
I have had them in there since Friday, and simply fill the sink with hot water, wait for it to cool and the empty and re-fill.
The water is coming clearer now, so hopefully I shall soon be able to put them in my tank.

 

[crazie.eddie]

Soaking the wood in boiling water will kill any bugs, parasites, etc. on the wood. It also helps release any tannins in the wood faster.

Soaking the wood in dechlorinator does not help, unless you soaked it in bleach first.

 

[olly24]

i soaked my wood for two weeks in a baby bath kept pouring boiling water over it and occasionally giving it a scrub a found that works although its time consuming but worth it in the end if you dont want it to leech

 

[big mick]

Im sure someone told me that boiling the wood is bad idea because it causes it to break up........Ive always just soaked mine in the tank coz I like the colour.

 

[paulf]

I dont soak it, I put it in the dish washer a couple of times with no powder on a high temp setting, seems to work a treat

 

[gallum8]

if ne one lives in wisconsin i know where to get some insane rocks and wood...lilly lake it used to be an old mining/saw camp so theres old wood under the water thats just beutiful and aged by about 200years of under waterness they are completely rock hard and just awesome

 

[Tolak]

if ne one lives in wisconsin i know where to get some insane rocks and wood...lilly lake it used to be an old mining/saw camp so theres old wood under the water thats just beutiful and aged by about 200years of under waterness they are completely rock hard and just awesome

Where about is this located, and is it private property?

I have a pickup truck.

 

[aaronc]

We boiled ours for an hour, changing the boling water several times. Then soaked them for 48 hours then stuck them in the tank. So far so good, no real relesase on tanins to speak of.

Aaron

 

[Tsi_User]

I have a piece soaking in the tub right now, I just change the water a few times a day for a week or so or until the water it is soaking in stays clear.

 

[madmom]

I boiled mine to make sure I killed any nasties that might be hiding in the wood. Then scrubbed and sanded again to get rid of loose debris and soaked it in a bucket tied to a rock changing the water daily for a week.