# making your own driftwood?



## shane2sweet1 (Aug 4, 2010)

Can you make your own driftwood?
I was wondering if there was a link that had instructions on how to do it? If so, what kinda wood could I use, oak or maple, maybe birch?

Has anyone tried this? To buy large branches of driftwood can be expensive.
I have a river behind my house maybe I will just sink a piece of a few weeks, just kidding.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Making driftwood by definition might be a long term project but found wood is used quite often. Some of it is driftwood and some not. I like the look of wood which has drifted around the lake for some time with alternate wet and dry periods. It gives it the more worn gnarly look I like. There are all sorts of topics about using wood you find. I would feel rather extravagant if I bought wood in a shop when so much is out waiting for pickup.


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## shane2sweet1 (Aug 4, 2010)

Well I got this crazy idea that I want to build a 110 gal plywood tank (at least my wife thinks I'm crazy, but I think me and my friend can do it) and I want to put large hunks of driftwood in it. Maybe a few pieces that go from end to end, and its gonna be 60" long.
And if this tank works out a few years down the road I want to build a monsterous tank like 250 or 300 gallons. I guess I have big dreams.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Well, that does sound big but there have been mighty successful dreamers make it work. The driftwood will be the easy part, though. Those large tanks take carefull planning. Before mixing wood with fish, consider your water and be prepared to deal with any crisis that it may cause. Check your water PH and buffering qualities. Hard water with lots of buffer will not change much but wood can drop the PH in other water. Just be aware. While you are planning the tanks, start looking for the wood. If there are lakes around handy, the shoreline will most likely have good wood. Stuff that dies and falls in or gets washed downstream and bounces around the lake for a few years is my fav. Bulldozer piles are another source. Sometimes these are left for years and get the right tone for me. The wood here is a bit messy but not out of reach with a good cleaning. Take a good saw as dry wood gets tough .


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## shane2sweet1 (Aug 4, 2010)

Yeah I never thought of checking state land where they might bulldoze up some stumps exposing good roots.


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## shane2sweet1 (Aug 4, 2010)

Who knows, I gotta a bunch of trees I wanna cut down in my backyard, I will probably just use one of those. I found a few links that told me to soak and boil the wood.


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## el_batty (Aug 30, 2010)

wow so just by soaking and boiling wood it changes to driftwood??  really?? :drooling:


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## risascooby (Sep 3, 2010)

boiling the wood gets rid of any bacteria or other stuff that may be in the wood, basically you are cleaning the wood prior to putting it into your tank.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I think there may be a few runaways on the thinking here. It will not be simple to cut a tree and get driftwood that would suit me. Newly cut wood will often have sap that will give you fits. For truly dry wood it has to be dead for a long time. I don't want bark coming off of newly cut wood. To me the look of driftwood can only come with age. New wood will still look new no matter how it is treated. It will look manmade. Just my spin. A walk through most woods will turn up dead wood that will serve far better than live. Actual driftwood that has been beat and battered gives me the character I like.


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## koihouse3 (Sep 13, 2010)

Sounds like a good idea. I would suggest using oak for this. It might be a long process but looks like it would be worth it afterwards.


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