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Everyone swears by driftwood, but how do you keep it from floating?

Fish or cut bait.

there are many ways but I would silicone it to a rock.

-Vincent

If it is a large piece it can be screwed to a piece of slate which can be burried into the substrate using a stainless steel screw or a plastic screw.

If it is a new piece soak it for a week or so and see it it will sink. It is the safest method to only buy from your LFS unless you are 110% sure it is safe and does not come from any poluted waters or areas where chemicals have been used.

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Keith

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Thanks for the help

Fish or cut bait.

I just purchased a new piece of driftwood from my local pet store and they told me to let the piece soak for 24 hours, drain out the water, soak it again for a few hours and then place it into the tank. BTW, the driftwood was sold with a piece of slate screwed to the bottom of it, in order to anchor it to the bottom of the tank.

Is this the proper method for installing a new piece of driftwood? I want to do it the right way because prior to this, I had just place a new piece of driftwood into my tank without letting it soak for a lengthy period of time and almsot all of my fish died and the tank got all messed up.

Any tips would be great! Thanks in advance.

~ Kirk

Kirk
Where did youn get the first piece of DW from if it was a collected there can and often is massive problems. If it was bought from a LFS for a fish tank some thing sounds very strange.

To be on the safe side it should be soaked over a period of time this depends on the DW if it is leaching out tannins (a brownish colour in the water) several water changes will have to be done. Many recommend boiling the DW but this actually starts to break down the timber and still it might not be 100% safe to use.

Is the info you was wanting?

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

I have had the new piece of driftwood soaking for a period of 26 hours now. I changed the water it was sitting it once and it was semi-brownish. The gentleman at my LFS said that I would need to let it soak for a day, wash it off again, and then it could be added to the tank. I just don't want my fish to die this time when I added it to the tank!

~ Kirk

I decided to keep the driftwood in water for the rest of the night, I will wash it off tomorrow morning.

~ Kirk

Hi,
When we "Season" DW, we usually leave it in a container
of water, submerged, for at least a week, changing the
water, sometimes daily, as it becomes brown.

Actually some folks love the tea color and it (the brown
water) will not harm the fish. Indeed, many of the South
American fish come from tea colored water.
The tannins (tannic acid) escaping from the DW is what
is causing the brown water and the most that they do
is lower the pH.
How much they lower the pH depends upon the amount of
tanic acid that escapes into the water, and the KH, which
is the "Carbonate Hardness" and is the buffering capacity
of the water.

Chances are that your initial problem had nothing to do
with the DW but rather something that came into your tank
on it. DW can take up quite a bit of room in a fish store
and frequently collects alot of dust and other stuff before
and sometimes after it hits the shelf. Nearly every fish
store I have ever been in, or worked in, has bugs crawling
all over. Many are escaped live fish food such as crickets
etc. Every once in a while the owner hires an exterminator
and they spray to kill off the escaped population. Who
does the spraying can either be the employees of the LFS,
or outside help not familiar with fishkeeping. The result
can be a kill off in patrons tanks if the purchaser does
not soak the DW and scrub it off before placing it in their
own tanks.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hi...

I know in Petco & Petsmart I see driftwood sitting on the shelves in the reptil section. And when you read the tag it says safe for all reptiles, amphibians, and birds, but doesn't say fish. Is all driftwood the same? Should I be looking for some that says suitable for fish or are these fine. Thanks!

No all DW is not the same as it comes from different timbers and areas.

I know of one LFS which sells reptiles and that timber is or can be directly from the ground. This means it can/could and does contain many contaminates that should never go into an aquarium. The same goes for any DW which has been in a reptile tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW