maoripho3nix Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hi all, So here in Gizzy/Poverty Bay, there is a massive abundance of drift wood on the beach. My question which might sound newbie(ish?) is, is it ok to soak and use driftwood that has been in the ocean(saltwater) as opposed to finding driftwood in a river or lake (freshwater)? Queue the facepalms :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Some driftwood takes a REALLY long time to become water logged. Months. Some driftwood can never be waterlogged, particularly stuff on the beach. Next you are introducing unknown parasites/bacteria/etc that has been present on that piece of driftwood. It could be fine, it could be disastrous. Also the likelyhood of introducing extra nuisance algae is probably quite high. Using stuff from the beach will be full of minerals from the sea, so you have to ask yourself if you are comfortable introducing those into your tank. Personally I wouldn't use driftwood from the beach OR rivers, unless you have baked and cured that piece of wood for a few months in the sun, then soaked for a month or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hi all, So here in Gizzy/Poverty Bay, there is a massive abundance of drift wood on the beach. My question which might sound newbie(ish?) is, is it ok to soak and use driftwood that has been in the ocean(saltwater) as opposed to finding driftwood in a river or lake (freshwater)? Queue the facepalms :facepalm: Yes, it's fine. Rinse and scrub any loose garbage off it and throw it in the tank. It won't have enough salt on/in it to cause a problem, less than some people use in their tanks in normal conditions, and none of it toxic. The likelyhood of introducing any disease is practically zero, anything that might have been on it will be saltwater diseases and parasites and will die in freshwater. You might get a bit of browning of the water. Or it's ugly. Either one is harmless. People WAAAAAY overthink putting driftwood in their tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Only reason for a pre-soak is to make sure it sinks and to see if/how much tannin it is leaching. Give it a goo clean, make sure it isn't rotting, and stay away from softwoods. Oh, and send me some!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 What's this wash and scrub business? give it a bang to knock sand off - if you must. Done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 I normally throw it straight in as well. I often pull off any loose bit firsts and at the same time check for rot. If it does nto sink I weigh it down with a rock or something similar. Around 6 months ago I weighed a bit down and it is still not completely water logged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 What's this wash and scrub business? give it a bang to knock sand off - if you must. Done The sand rarely matches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 The sand rarely matches... that is why I said knock it off :digH: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 I like to give it a quick wash and scrub to get any wee critters off it who might get upset at suddenly finding their home flooded. My driftwood came from the mouth of the Hokitika River. Lovely rata that floated down stream then lay, waterlogged already, on the beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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