September 5, 201412 yr comment_553997 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: Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_553998 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. Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554001 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. Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554002 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!! Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554004 What's this wash and scrub business? give it a bang to knock sand off - if you must. Done Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554005 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. Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554006 What's this wash and scrub business? give it a bang to knock sand off - if you must. Done The sand rarely matches... Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554022 The sand rarely matches... that is why I said knock it off :digH: Report
September 5, 201412 yr comment_554035 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. Report
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