ABiondi

- Does anyone have any suggestions for sinking driftwood? It is quite porous and i've added holes and it has been soaking for almost 2 days now.. I would much rather not "tie" it down. Any other ideas??

Thanks,
AB

COBettaCouple

This may be totally off-the-wall or just plain wrong, but would it be possible to weigh it down with gravel 'inside' the driftwood.. like if you could shove pieces of gravel down the holes so they'd be stuck in the wood? just a crazy idea, i bet you'll get some better ones soon but i thought i'd toss that idea out and see if it was any help.

Semantic Drift

Maybe you could try some fishing sinkers? Non-lead, of course. They are pretty malleable, and you can probably fit them into whatever nooks you have on the underside.

boff

Hi it takes about 4 weeks of soaking before it sinks by its self .Some people use slate or stone drill some holes in the slate and screw it to the wood ,when you put it in the tank , just cover the slate with the gravel so you don't see it .

ABiondi

Thanks for the input, I want to get it in there soon because I just got a clown pleco. This may be the "lazy" approach but is it bad to let it float? The "current" would keep it in a good spot, would he be ok with loose driftwood?

Sarcastic

Aside from the desire to have the driftwood sink, the added benefit of soaking for a week or so is to make certain that all the natural oils in the wood are soaked out. These will stain the water in your tank for a bit if you don't wait.

I added a large piece of driftwood to my tank - soaked for only one week and it sunk straight to the bottom when I added it.

ABiondi

I did notice the water its soaking in has slightly changed color but I assumed any harmful chemicals would easily be washed away in a day seeing that I bought this at a store. Would it make sense to change the water it is soaking in regularly? I used tank water from a water change, is dechlorinated tap ok? If I'm going to change the water regularly I don't want to do water changes on the tanks everyday.

Thanks Again, I hope to someday be the helper instead of the helpee.

AB

armadillo

I just boiled mine about 3 times, and it sunk. Before that, it was floating like the floatiest of boats! Might want to try that. Quicker.

P.S. Make sure you leave it to soak in cold water for a little while before you put it back in the tank, and to check the temperature of the log. Don't want to burn your clown pleco!

tan.b

i dont think having the wood floating around in the tank is a good idea as it may bash into a fish or squash an unsuspecting fish between the log and the glass. i'm a bit safety concious though!
the tannins the wood leaches out are harmless, its just aesthetically your tank wont look as good with the murky water. this wood wil have come from water where fish live to start with.
no worries, we were all newbies once upon a time, and often i still feel like one!! we all enjoy helping people and their fish!
it doesnt necessarily need soaking in used tank water... any dechloinated water will do, and to be honest i just used plain tap water without dechlorinating it first . my fish were ok. i guess that as the log was sat in the water for a few days the chlorine will have escaped over time anyway .
mine never floated so i cant help you with that, but the ideas i've read so far all sound good to me (except the floating about one? )
good luck
tan

COBettaCouple

what type of wood is this driftwood?

ABiondi

I can't remember for the life of me what the tag said, it looks like a tree root almost. Although I did find a small hole that seems to have been drilled. So apparently whoever manufactured it thought of my problem. I zip tied it to a heavy rock and the other side sits nicely on a cave-like thing I have and it provides a nice path for the fiddler crab to get out of the water. Though in the process of putting in the driftwood I had a disaster... My redtail shark made a break for it, I knew they were jumpers but the water level is about a 6-7 inches below the top of the tank on account of the crab. I guess i spooked him and he LEAPED out, it was really something. I grabbed him as soon as he hit the ground and put him back. He laid lifeless for a minute or two but seems OK now, he's a little hyper but who wouldn't be after that?

Thanks again to everyone's input, this site has proved more than useful, and I'm sure to continue checking daily.

-AB-

armadillo

Ooooo, clever, the whole to pass a string through. What kind of string are you putting through? I heard that fishing wire was aquarium-safe (you never know what type of string is going to rot/release toxins).

Oh nooooo! How hardy to survive such a high jump. The length of the fall must be like 100 times the size of his body. Hope he recuperates.

COBettaCouple

Quite a jump there by your shark! Has he been watching tv shows about acrobats lately?

tan.b

shame they dont have an olympics for the fish eh! he'd win the high jump! hope he's ok. have you put some stress coat in the tank to help him heal from any scuffs/abrasions. the landing and handling may reduce his slime coat?

COBettaCouple

good call tan.

tan.b

np

ABiondi

So far he's doing quite well.. i moved him into a tank with Danio's and Barb's because the tank he was in has two other sharks, they typically get along fine, but i didn't want them to take advantage of any weakened condition he maybe suffering. He actually seems to like it better because there is no competition and he is now the biggest fish, opposed to smallest (hence his name "Runt"). I lean toward more natural ways to help with their health so he's been getting pea's and lettuce which he really enjoys, other than the initial shock he seems ok.

AB

tan.b

glad to hear he's doing well