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I'm planning a 150g tank. I need advice on how to prepare wood before it goes in the tank. First of all, at my house, we have a long driveway with wetlands in the front. I found some wood in the front and I was wondering if I could use it. It's kind of swampy, so I wasn't sure. If I can use this wood, then how do I prepare it for the tank? Also, I've tried drift wood from the store before, but it never stayed down on its own, I had to attach a rock to it. Is it possible to get the wood to sink on its own?

Thanks for the advice

Last edited by nickman713 at 30-Dec-2005 15:27

I would be extremly carefull of any collected DW can you be 110% sure there have been no polutants that could have efected the timber or that the timber has not been sprayed with any chemicals.

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You can prepair the wood by soaking it in a tub & place a rock on it to keep it down. When you see that it's water logged, than you can place it in your tank.

Be sure that the wood that you found are 100% clean & if you're going to use them, boil them for a few minutes & place them in the tank, well before adding fish & do some water parameter check aswell, to see if there is something in the water that might kill your fish.


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Since it's on your own property you (or the parents) are probably a bit more aware of where the water is coming from and what pollutants it is likely bringing with it. If there's any concern you're probably better off leaving it out of the tank.

If you're fairly certian on it being clean from any chemical buildup then a bit of boiling (not much more than 20 minutes or so) and some good long soaks (change the water out as it turns brown) will have it sinking soon enough.
Some woods will take longer than others to sink. It can be added to the tank while it's still floating, I've done that a number of times simply because I wanted it in and not taking up room outside of the tank .

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