driftwood question

marshallsea

i want a piece of driftwood for my tank but im on a tight budget. i live close to the red river. is wood washed up on shore considered driftwood? what should i look for and how do i treat it?

GwenInNM

You can use wood you find, but you want to avoid any wood that has sap, as that could leach out and kill fish. If it's been in water, it's likely safe. Boil it well for at least 5-10 minutes. You should be fine.

Gwen

marshallsea

hello gwen and thank you. im going down to the river tomorrow.

Sanguinefox

Personally I would boil it longer than 15 mins. Try boiling it for 30 plus or well over an hour. Wood that comes out of wild waters can potentially harbor all sorts of nasties. So boil the water well for a longer time to kill off unwanted pests.

You will also want to check that your wood sinks, if it floats you can try leaving it in a bucket of water till it sinks, or try weighing it down.

marshallsea

good info thanks

GwenInNM

Have fun! Take a pic of it, so we can see :) As the other poster said, boil longer if you can. It sure can't hurt. Just make sure to let it cool before putting in the water.

Gwen

Boredomb

Just wanted to say I thought the same thing here about sap. I found a piece of wood at a river I liked. It had been in the water for some time so thought it was safe. Took it home and boiled the piece of wood and to my surprise it still had sap which got all over my pot. Sap is harder then crap to get off of things lol. Point of the story just be careful on what you take.
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stevenjohn21

do as the above posters say but add some white vinegar, this will not only kill any nasties instantly, it will also release any unwanted tannins faster. Give it a quick rinse after and hey presto !

marshallsea

yes i will be picky and will be looking for choice rocks also. ive had enough of fake stuff! it looked good to me on the shelf but the truth comes out in the tank.

marshallsea

ill see if i can find someone to show me how to post pics. when i was in school there were no computers!