FishManPA

O.K. so I found a Giant piece of driftwood I'd like to put in my tank that I pulled from the creek earlier today. I'd like to use it in my tank for the natural look and also to lower my pH level. I cleaned it, and by cleaning I mean I scrubbed it down cut it to size and got all the loose debris (moss etc.) rinsed it in boiling water (I cant boil it because it is 2 Huge, so I just boiled pots of water and rinsed it in the Tub) So heres the concern--- The wood is not (water logged) - Its still floats ...and Im concerned that it hasnt soaked long enough to seep all the bad stuff out of the wood and would end up screwing up the established tank. The fact that it still floats is a concern because If I cant introduce it into the tank until it is water logged than im not quite sure how im going to soak it because I dont have anything large enough to soak it in and I obviously cant keep it in the bath tub for a month. If I put it in the tank as-is its large enough that im sure I can establish it in a way that the boyancy wont be much of a problem because it will be wedged in by touching the top and the bottom of the tank...I just dont want it to screw up the tank! I have hard water and a high PH so the tannins leaching out into the water would actually be a good thing. I also keep it under control by adding peat in the fluval fx5.
So what do you think are there any suggestions?
The goal here is to create a more natural enviroment in my established freshwater tank. My user picture is the set-up I have now and I would like to change the blue stones to a more natural gravel, add the driftwood and some live plants.

Butterfly

You can also put it in the oven at 200F for several hours.
I never have any luck getting them to sink just by soaking so we use stainless steel screws and a drill and attach flat rocks to our driftwood.the rocks can be covered up with the substrate if you would like.
Carol

IIIHawKIII

welllllllll....you might try and do a couple things. neither way i've thought of is gonna be easy.

first idea....tie it to some cinder blocks and throw it back in the creek/pond with an empty gallon jug with the lid on it tied to it. jug will act as a marker so you can find it to pull it back out. of course this will mean you have to rescrub and reboil all of it.

second idea...cruise craigslist or freecycle for an old bathtub. or maybe call some "remodeling" places from the yellow pages and see if they are doin any bathroom remodels. if you can locate one, weigh it down and wait.

either way you are gonna be waitin awhile i think.

TedsTank

If you bake it it will be even harder to sink....you will dry it out further. Boiling water rinses, rinses, rinses will work. After a few days in the tank it WILL grow a bloom of bacteria....looks awful but dies out....then it will be ready for plants and moss. Do you know it it is an evergreen or a hardwood? Hardwood would be preferred. There are a couple of helpful threads about driftwood around here somewhere...

Butterfly

Yep it will but it will kill any nasties that it might be harboring. since he doesn't have anything big enough to boil it that the only alternative I see to make it safe for his tank.

Weighting it is easy, not complicated at all if you choose to do that
Carol

aquarist48

You can staple LED weights (used to keep plants on the bottom) onto the bottom of it...silicone it to a piece of slate then put it under the substrate.

FishManPA

So sounds like once I get over the floating problem it should be ok to introduce to the tank? Its not going to harm the fish or drastically change the water if I dont let it soak for a while?

aquarist48

It should be fine. Pouring boiling water over it to kill any critters is a good idea. If it leaks tannis it should help to lower your pH...too carbon in the filter will help to remove the brown tint in the water.

TedsTank

So how have you made out with the driftwood?...in the tank yet??