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And just as an added note, it may take more than a few days for the wood to become water logged.

I'm currently soaking several pieces and it has been over two weeks & still floating somewhat.

It could take a couple of months and in some cases I believe some will never sink without assistance. If that is the case you can attach them to a piece of slate and bury that under your gravel to hold in place.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Have a bit of patience- and do as others have suggested...
Each piece varies, ive got one that sank in days, and another ( smaller) piece thats been in the 55 since AUG and is STILL held down with a rock.... But it keeps it down.It was soaked for a month, then boiled, still didnt sink- so i just put a 3-4 in chunk of granite on it- holds it down just fine. Sometimes you just have to get creative

They have already been submerged in my 55 gallon for 2 and half weeks and been boiled twice...no sinking has occured.

i agree.. don’t worry about boiling them for now.. Get them to drown first in normal water.. weigh them down with a rock atached to it.. they will not sink immediately so u got to be patient. When they do sink, that is when u transfer them to your boiling pot and they will sink with the weight of the previous water that has been soaked.

Last edited by r0b3y at 17-Mar-2005 05:58

It took me 2 weeks of being constantly submerged in a wheelbarrow for mine to start to sink...

Just leave the wood submerged in a bucket for a week & then give them a 15-20 min boil. First you must have patience & leave them submerged till they "drown". You are not going to "drown" them by boiling.



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It has now been the second night in a row I have boiled the four pieces of driftwood. This time, they were totally submerged with a piece of slate and boiled for 5 hours. To my surprise and frustration, none of the pieces sank and don't look like they are going to do so any time soon. I am so frustrated right now...

I will try one more time tomorrow evening with some cooking salt as mentioned previously. If this does not work, I will no longer be fond of driftwood as I used to be.

Last edited by 1tankneverenuff at 16-Mar-2005 02:20

These four pieces WERE attached to slate and submerged in my 55 gallon for over two weeks! Also, it was mentioned to sink them while boiling? How in the world am I going to do that...and safely? These pieces have to be seperated, I cannot just keep them attached to a piece of slate. With nearly 90 lbs. of lace rock in the tank, there is no room for a massive piece of slate. Plus, I don't want the wood just hanging out in one corner...

I know these pieces sink, I've had four others just like them in my 33L gallon. Only thing is, they were submerged in that 33L gallon for three months or longer before I even considered detaching them from the slate.

Last edited by 1tankneverenuff at 15-Mar-2005 11:26

I agree with Oldtimer. I had one piece that I soaked for weeks and it just would not go down. I attached a piece of rock to it and worked it into my aquascape - I pushed the stone part up against the back glass and let some plants grow in to cover it up... can't even tell it's there now.

The point is, there are several things you can do to make it work, you just have to think outside the box a little bit.

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Back in the saddle!

Hey, what up everyone? Well, it's 3am, and 4 pieces measuring anywhere from 4" to 12" have been soaking and boiling for 3 hours. Still no real sign that they're going to sink any time soon. Alot of tannins have leaked though which is good, so something is happening at least. But, how much longer could this possibly take? I don't want to be up all night and my 55 gallon looks more and more awesome every time I add something. These pieces will also be used as home for a few plants so I need to get them SINKING! Again, how long did it take YOU to sink your pieces?

Last edited by Fallout at 15-Mar-2005 07:27

You're going to want to submerse them too, not just let 'em float, it'll never sink doing that.

Also boiling softens the wood and makes it break down faster.

Just submerge it and leave it for a week or two, changing the water once every two days.

lol yea get some rest.. just retry in the morning.. if it doesnt sink just weigh it down with sumthing like jasonpisani suggested.

r0b3y

Last edited by r0b3y at 15-Mar-2005 05:05

Just leave them to sink in a bucket with a stone on them, so they will get water clogged easier. It will take a few days & after they sink, you can boil them again.



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Ok r0b3y, I think I will try your method here soon. After being in my 55 gallon for 2 weeks, and then boiling for 6 hours, I would've thought something would sink by now. I feel like an idiot and am going to bed...

having the wood pre soaked will stop it from floating.
I’ll try help u out here and maybe other with boiling driftwood..
boiling driftwood is the quickest way to stop it from tanning, tanning can stop within 3 days..

this is what i do:
firstly rinse off the wood and give a good scrub with an unused sponge.. get a big bucket, fill it up with boiled water with some COOKING salt.. let this soak for a day.

Next day get your boiling pot ready, put the wood in the pot with some cooking salt and boil for 3 to 4 hrs on medium heat. Make sure you keep topping up the water as it evaporates quickly. Then let them dry out for a couple of hours and resoak in a bucket over night.

Next day reboil them the same as the previous day for 3 hrs or more if u feel like. Give a good rinse and put into the tank.. wood will not leach, it MAY leach a little but nothing to noticeable, it will probly give a better natural look for a week and your done
apply some carbon if you want to the tank and it perfect!!

hope this helps

r0b3y


Last edited by r0b3y at 15-Mar-2005 04:15

It's now 5am and no sinking has occurred in the pot. Am I doing something wrong here? I'm going to lose my mind...

Holy crap, I can't believe I just noticed this. Only one side of the oven works . So, I just now switched it to the other side where both sets of coils are working. The water still boiled on the other side, but now it's boiling alot easier. Don't know how this is going to affect my time of waiting ...