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i was told that you can boil it but thats all i was told not how long or anything. so if you could help me out i would appreciate it

Is this driftwood that you bought from an LFS, or some you found out on the beach?

If it is from your LFS, you just need to give it a good rinse with hot water to get the dirt off. Depending on the size of your tank and the piece, it may noticably stain your water color. Having carbon in your filter will lessen the coloration, as will time and water changes.

If you found it somewhere, you should boil it for a good 10-15 mins just to be safe. Jut place the wood in a pot with water and boil on the stove. If the wood doesn't fit all the way in the water, let one side boil then flip it over.

If it is from the ocean, I'm not sure if it can be used in freshwater tank. Someone else want to take it from here?

HTH

><>Dani<><

I wouldnt' suggest ocean driftwood. Since wood is so porus it's going to absorb alot and I doubt any ammount of rinsing and soakin will release it.

Wood from natural sources should be boiled for 20 minutes (any longer than that and you may find it breaks down easier in the tank). Or baked for a few hours @a temp of 150F, just watch that it doesnt' start to burn. In rare cases I've soaked in a bleach solution however that requires a lot of rinsing afterwards.

LFS driftwood is the easiest. Boil for 10-15 as was suggested then soak in hot water for a few days. Change the water as it becomes stained with the tannic acids if you dont want them coloring your tank. If you do want the tannin colors then simply keep the water hot (but not boiling). Warmer water will help the wood sink faster by opening it up.

^_^ [hr width='40%']
"The rain is falling down like silence in a shroud"

thanxs fo ryour help, thje drift wood i have is from the ocean so i will see wat i can do with it to see if it will be tank safe and i am also goin to go out and get some drift wood form the local streams rivers and lakes

When collecting from local FW sources you need to be very careful about pollution from nearby sources. Wood is porus as was mentioned before, and will absorb plenty of things you wouldnt want in your tank. You also have to be careful to kill any nasties, and give it plenty of soaking time.

To "tank safe" the ocean piece I'd make sure it was compleatly dry then seal it to prevent it from releasing anything into the tank. Then to have it in the tank you'll need to weigh it down with a rock. So unless this is the perfect piece of driftwood you may not want to take the time and energy.

^_^ [hr width='40%']
"The rain is falling down like silence in a shroud"

I have colected several Ocean pieces of drift wood from a totally polution free area.

The one in the tank at the moment is a large hollow piece
I just soaked it for about a month changing the water regually. As far a healthy for the tank my Anubias are growing on it so well I will have to prune them very soon.

I wanted a particular small rock recently so I went to a local landscape supplier. 22 tons of rock to select from and a lot of large hollow logs as well. The rocks were $9.00 a bucket, that is a fraction of any aqu prices & it is all river stones just needing a bit of cleaning.

Keith

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