Using Natural Driftwood

[squidneh]

I have found some lovely pieces of driftwood in my local river, where I regularly hike with my dogs. I would like to collect it and use it in my tanks, as I've had problems with the driftwood at my LFS, and of course, this is free.  A free 4 foot piece of lovely driftwood with crevices and hidey holes for the fish - can't pass it up.
 
Now, I know I can't just dump the wood into the tank.  I've done some research on how to make it safe for the aquarium, but any advice would be appreciated.
 
1. Collect driftwood
2. Soak in a bleach/water solution for 30 minutes
3. Rinse and scrub
4. Test with vinegar (I thought this was for rocks? But from what I've read you can use it for driftwood too..)
5. Repeat if necessary 
 
Does this sound alright? I'm a bit concerned about bleaching the piece and then having it in my tank.  I don't have space to soak it for an extended period (5 people and one bathtub for showers). 
 
Regardless I will be adding activated carbon to my filter just as a precaution, and I will likely be doing the bleach/scrub process twice either way to be sure.

 

[Wills]

There are a few problems with found wood - you need to be sure of what type of tree its come from as if its come from a type of fir tree it can release things into the tank, also if its from a soft wood tree it can rot faster than you would want in a tank.
 
Also is it from a 100% fresh water lake?
 
Wills

 

[squidneh]

I haven't really paid attention to the types of trees growing in that area, so I will have a look and see if the type is safe for the aquarium. Thanks for that advice, I hadn't thought of that.
 
And yes, it is a branch of the Connecticut River, the Scantic River, and is freshwater.  The fish in it are mainly trout and blue gills

 

[Lillefishy]

I wouldn't soak it in bleach, wood is porous so you wouldn't know how much bleach it's absorbed or if you'd removed all of it afterwards.
Boiling water should kill any nasties in it & give it a good scrub

 

[NadeZ]

Agreed. Wood is too porous to be soaking in bleach or vinegar. Just rinse it and scrub it for a day using boiling water. Then soak it in an aquarium or wheely bin until it's water logged and tannins have stopped leaching, changing the water once week. This should eliminate any nasties in or on the wood. A couple of months of soak will be best just to ensure that all pollutants have leached out.

 

[squidneh]

Alright, I like the idea of using boiling water more - as you've both stated using bleach just goes against the gut when talking about an item that will be submersed in the tank with limited water and many loved fish.
 
The wood is already water logged, it is at the shallow bank of the river.  The water is clear enough you can see the bottom even in the center when the sun is high and appears very clean, but of course I will sanitize it by boiling and scrubbing. The pieces I've been eyeing have been there for quite some time as I walk by them almost every day. They are in good shape, not falling apart, etc, and I hope to have minimal tannins since they have been in running water for an extended period

 

[Alasse]

Personally
 
I would scrub and pour boiling water over them, then in the tank they'd go.

 

[Byron]

I agree with what others are suggesting, but I would add a caution.  It is absolutely impossible to ensure everything is somehow "removed" from wood, even wood bought in the fish store.  And I have a lot of wood in my tanks.  I once lost half a tank of fish over a period of weeks to an unknown toxin that slowly leeched from a chunk of wood that had been in the tank for more than two years before this started.  And the wood came from a reputable fish store.
 
There are pathogens in your local freshwater that will seriously harm tropical fish, and vice versa.  This is why we never release fish or plants from our tropical tanks into the environment.  Local fish are not immune to tropical pathogens, and vice versa.  Now, having said that, I use branches picked up in the woods in my tanks, but these very thin branches are much less likely to harbour pathogens that will take months to leech out.
 
Byron.