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I purchased a piece of driftwood on Ebay. The seller said it was pressure-washed with well water and is ready for the tank. Should I trust her or is there something I should do to it before adding it to my aquarium? Thank you.

Just clean it well under running water & brush it a bit aswell. You can also leave it for a few days to soak. If it's water logged you can place it in your tank but if it isn't, you have to "drown " it in a bucket & than place it in the tank.


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I am a firm believer in boiling anything suspect. Boiling will safegard you against unwanted nasties getting in your tank. Everything from termites to mold spores can be found on wood, do you want to risk adding that to your tank? Find a large pot and boil the wood for 20 mins, let it cool then add it to the tank. This goes for decorative rock as well as wood.

Thanks for the info. I think, to be safe, I'll boil it.

Caviar
To start off with the well water??? could easy be contaminated. "Buyer Beware" Depending on the size boil if possible if not soak it for at least 10-14 days give it a good scrub with a new hard brush then resoak it again. It is better to be safe and take a bit longe and do the job correctly. I recently purchased a large piece too big to boil therefore it will be soaking for at least a month or more. Reason it is going into a small tank.
No room for any error at all.

Keith

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Keithgh, I brushed it well with a stiff brush, pulled off the remaining bark, brushed again and boiled it for a half hour in my canner. It's in a 5 gal. bucket, totally submerged, at the moment. If I missed a bit of bark, will that cause any problems? Thanks.

Caviar

The bark should all be removed if any left it should be removed after a good second soaking.

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