The Puffer Forum

so i just got a new big ole piece of drift wood for him, however, i need to know of the best way to make it safe for him..... it is meant to be in an aquarium.... but it had been with my friends large mouth bass that wasnt taken care of AT ALL and suffers from severe malnutrition (youre gonna freak when you hear this) he only gets like 5 large feeder gold fish every few months.... hasnt been fed since thanks giving!!!!!!!! he is kept in the spawning state, like how they can live for months at a time with no food when spawning.....

anyway, back on track, the bass doesnt look very well, and since he only eats gold fish and is on his death bed, i dont know if he has parasites or not..... sssssssoooooooooo, how do i make this piece of drift wood safe? i RREEAALLYY want to use it, but i also want it to be safe as well.... its a beautiful piece of wood and an expensive one at that...... would a little bleach in the bathtub work? or would it be bad since the wood is probably pourous? can you bake it at a low temp just in case there is anything living? should i put it in the freezer? can i use a combo of all 3?

i know Kukah would love this drift wood, and id love to make it safe for him

just rince it off imo, might need to attach a ceramic plate to bottom of it depending how big it is .
bury plate in gravel,

boil the heck out of it!

lol id love to boil the heck out of it, but its really big... and i only have a few medium sized sauce pans lol..... should i just soak it in some hot hot hot water in the bathtub, and maybe add some boiled water from the stove?

bleach wouldnt be a good idea right? or would it? i dont want to do it until i know its safe
thanks guys

bleach can be neutralized with "Prime"
however, because the wood is a porous material, you may not be able to successfully neutralize all of the bleach.
i, for one, would not take that chance!
boil the heck out of it!
maybe you can get a turkey "deep-frying" pot, & boil parts of it at a time

Ew, not the bathtub! All kinds of nasty soaps and cleaning stuff could get into the wood and then leach back out.

If it's really big, the only option might be baking...

+1 for baking in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

My husband went fishing this morning and didn't catch anything..however he did bring home some nice pieces of driftwood. We usually bake ours like PP said about 350 for an hour.

That's my way of preparing Driftwood



1st method. The bark should be taken off, rotten particles should be
cleaned out. After this the future decor is boiled in an enamel bowel at least for 1 hr (depending on the size of the branch) in a saturated solution of salt. Bactericidal agents are not needed, since the wood after boiling procedure is sterile. Then the driftwood is put in fresh water and boiled for 3 to 4 hrs.

2nd method. With this method any sort of wood, dead or live, except for conifer wood, caters for. The best are roots and branches of pu$$y-willow or other kind of willow.

The dirt must be rinsed off, and the bark - taken off. Then with a saw and knife the desired shape is put to the driftwood. The billet is placed in to an electric or a gas stove and is annealed for 2-3 hrs at a temperature 392-482 ?F. Higher temperature is not recommended because the branches and protruding parts of driftwood may get charred.

During these 2-3 hrs the wood will lose the whole water, and (this is very important) the inner layers of wood will undergo a complete sterilization. The surface of the driftwood will acquire a fine red color.

The further procedures repeat the traditional (1st) method: the wood is placed in a saturated solution of salt and is boiled and then is boiled in fresh water. Adding potassium permanganate (one tablespoon per 10 liters of water) provides even the better result: the substance is bactericidal and gives a more intensive coloring to the wood.

Before placing the prepared driftwood into the tank some more procedures should be done: cooling, rinsing and soaking in a bucket (1-2 days) to avoid an infusorial splash. The ready driftwood is good to be a decor.

To prevent drifting, the wood is fastened by resting its top end on the horizontal framework of the tank or by tying it with a fishing line to a Plexiglas plate, which is positioned at the tank bottom and is hold by pebbles and sand.

Some times new prepped driftwood if not done correctly may have a fungus.




This fungus is harmless

I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to boil wood and can't remember why.

kinda remember something about breaking down cell walls ...

darb wrote:I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to boil wood and can't remember why.

kinda remember something about breaking down cell walls ...

thankyou, i ended up just baking it and soaking it in hot water instead

When you soaked it in hot water did the water turn brownish red from tannis?

no it didnt turn any color. all the junk from the other persons fish tank washed off though.... what are tannis?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin

usually is causes the water to turn a tea brown in newer drift wood. Some like it some don't.. since your seems to have leached out I don't think you'll have that problem.

since your seems to have leached out I don't think you'll have that problem.

with baking, new driftwood will not lose tannis

But with boiling you are speeding up that proses.

I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to boil wood and can't remember why.

never heard that boiling is harmful to a driftwood