# Drift wood newbie- where and what can I use?



## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

This weekend I hope to score some driftwood. My sources will be rivers and the beaches on lake Erie. Will driftwood from the Lake be safe?

These may be silly questions, but I'm new to wood in my tanks. I read an article that says to boil the wood. I'm hoping to score pcs for my 180 that are too large to boil. But I do have a small power washer. Will a good power washing be sufficient?

Last question is of course, will it float or sink? Do I have to spend big $$$ at the LFS to get the instant gratification of sinking wood?


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## oyster dog (Jul 2, 2013)

You want driftwood that isn't rotten--if it feels mushy in your hand, don't use it. Pine trees are not good choices because they are soft and resinous; you will want one of the hardwood species.

Boiling serves two purposes: 1) it kills algae and other hitchhikers on the wood, and 2) it waterlogs it faster, if it's not a sinker already. Toss it in the Lake to see if it floats or sinks. If it's a floater, you can tie it to a large rock or flat piece of slate to sink it in your tank.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

I've answered quite a few "how to" collect your own driftwood, twigs, leaves, ect in my thread over in the CA forum. Scroll through it if you get a chance.

I'll try and sum it up here though..

Collecting your own driftwood is a no brainer. I will never pay money for pieces of wood again! When collecting your own, you want to look for a few things..
- You want the wood to be a hardwood -- think oak or beech.
- You want the wood dead already, but not to the point where it is beginning to decompose. So nothing that has been laying on the forest floor for weeks on end.
- In most cases you want the bark to be off for the most part.
- Dry, washed up wood works as well as a piece that's fully/partially submerged. Either way all I've ever done to "prepare" pieces that I have collected is power wash the heck out of them to remove any and all loose debris, then let them dry out COMPLETELY (will take a few days now that it's cold and cloudy). I've never seen the need to bake, boil, bleach, ect.. overkill in my opinion and I've never had an issue. Soaking could be beneficial if you're afraid of tannins. I'm not.
- Pieces you collect WILL float. I've had pieces in my tank for upwards of a year and still be somewhat buoyant. I use this to my advantage though, and place them in a way that makes them look like they are entering from the waters surface. You can also weigh down portions with rocks or create your own bases. I've created bases out of tile as well as plexiglass.

Hope this helps. :thumb:


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Thanks some good advise here. So I have 2 more questions...

1. What's the purpose of letting them dry out completely after washing?

2. So if the wood isn't rotten, and the bark is missing, or is loose and can be torn off. Is there an advantage over collecting them near a water source, rather than the woods?


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

1. I let them dry out completely to kill any kind of aquatic bacteria/hitchhikers. I'm sure it doesn't kill everything, but it's got to knock out a lot of them. I usually do this in the summer so it can bake in the sun.

2. I collect Oak twigs and branches from my yard. In most cases however, when you find a piece of wood in the forest it has usually been sitting on the forest floor rotting and collecting all sorts of little bugs.. not to mention that it isn't technically "driftwood". When you collect wood that has been floating down a river or submerged in a lake for months, years, ect. the water has treated it in a sense. I'd stick to a water source for the large pieces. Dead twigs snapped off an Oak tree are perfectly fine though.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

CjCichlid said:


> 1. I let them dry out completely to kill any kind of aquatic bacteria/hitchhikers. I'm sure it doesn't kill everything, but it's got to knock out a lot of them. I usually do this in the summer so it can bake in the sun.


Alright Chris I lied, I have a 3rd question.

Since it's now cold here in Ohio, not too far from you, I can't imagine it will dry fully outside. I could leave it in my garage, but my garage is damp and unheated. The most logical place would be my basement. Which averages 60-65 in the winter. How long would you leave it in your house to dry out? Days, weeks, a month?


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Hah ahhh not another question! :wink:

It varies depending on the piece.. some are denser than others, ect. If you're going to dry it in your basement, I'd give it a week with a fan blasting on it. You'll be able to tell when it's dry. It will be quite a bit lighter and not cold to the touch.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Well, I made it out today. My son and I picked up 3 buckets of larger size river rocks from a river bank. A few pcs of wood from the river, and some pcs from a beach on Lake Erie. I didn't find that "stunner show piece" I was hoping for but I did manage a large piece with a few branches off of it. The large pc is about 94" long. I was really feeling pretty good about cutting it down to 1 six foot pc and laying across the full length of my 180. Until I remembered on the drive home that the tank had 2 cross members :x

So now I'm trying to decide where to cut it. I think I will end up with 2 cool usable pcs that I "might" be able to get in my tank. Anyways. below is what i picked up today. Any thoughts on where to cut the large pc? I've taken different pics of the large pc to rack my brain prior to cutting.

I must say as simple as it sounds, I'm perplexed when it comes to "picking hardwood" vs "soft wood". Almost everything on the lake seems to be similar to me. It doesn't seem extra soft nor really hard. I can put my fingernail imprint in the wood. And although this may sound really stupid, I'm also confused about "drfitwood" vs " non drift wood". What I mean is, there is plenty of wood to be found in dry areas where I do not think it has been in water that looks just like the driftwood Either way, I tried to pick out pcs that i knew had come from the water.

It's also not so easy coming up with pcs that do not show some sort of decay. So, anyone that has experience with driftwood, please evaluate what I have here and tell me if something doesn't look usable. The last 2 pics for example. The dark area inside the end, is it too rotten? I don't think the dark softer spot is that deep. the outside pretty hard. is it usable?


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Hah, I think you're "nuking" this a bit.. in other terms -- putting too much thought into it. All your pieces look just fine! :thumb:

I'd power wash the heck out of them, let them dry, and throw'em in! Can't really make any recommendations on where to cut the large piece, however I will say be careful with "cutting". You can ruin a good piece of wood by cutting a straight, saw made cut. Looks very unnatural. I like to try and break most pieces, then sand down any crazy sharp edges or points.

DISCLAIMER: When attempting to break pieces in certain spots it may not always turn out exactly how you envisioned. :lol:

Another quick tip, when trying to see how you want to place pieces in your tank (this includes rocks as well).. I like to use masking tape and create an outline of the footprint of the tank on say, the garage floor. This allows you to basically lay everything out and try different things before actually putting then in your tank. It's especially convenient when you have a pre-existing tank that already has water and fish in it!


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

CjCichlid said:


> Hah, I think you're "nuking" this a bit.. in other terms -- putting too much thought into it.


Yes, I know I am. It's my nature, it sometimes drives me crazy!

My biggest problem now? It snowed today, and will remain below freezing for days! I had hoped to power wash this stuff before tonight ended, to start the drying process. I still may attempt it before the weekend's over, but I might turn the driveway into a skating rink :dancing:


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Hah yeah we got snow here as well.. about 4in actually.

Good luck power washing everything! It's going to be a cold task! I'd like to see the looks from your neighbors.. power washing dead tree branches.. in December? :lol:


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

CjCichlid said:


> I'd like to see the looks from your neighbors.. power washing dead tree branches.. in December? :lol:


Looking stupid has never stopped me before :dancing:

I think I will go buy some salt for the driveway before I start the project  I don't need any emergency bills. My wife would be the 1st one to bust her butt!


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Well, I spent most of the day outside cleaning. I put up the outside Christmas decor to keep the wife happy. Cleared the drive with my snowblower. Then i figured what the heck, I'm out here, and already cold so I might as well go ahead and look stupid and power wash my driftwood. But it turned out my hose was frozen so I gave up on doing it at home and decided to go to the car wash to blast them. I made sure I rinsed the whole car wash down. I only used a small clean area to rest the tip of the wood on. Not quite as powerful as my small power washer, but I think it did the trick.

Oh yeah, speaking of looking stupid, I fired up the chainsaw in the garage to cut the wood too :dancing:


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Hah, carwash.. That's actually a really good idea! How many quarters did it take you? :lol:


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

CjCichlid said:


> Hah, carwash.. That's actually a really good idea! How many quarters did it take you? :lol:


Don't get me started on that one. It was a rip off. 3.00 to start for 3 minutes, and 1.00 token to add like 2 minutes. I spent 14.00!!! But I did rinse my truck off after I was done!


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Haha :lol:

Hey.. not to bad of a deal if you take into consideration how much they charge for driftwood at LFS these days!


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Ok Cj, I'm gearing up for the redo of this tank. I picked up some slate tile and stainless steel screws from Home depot today in case I need it to secure driftwood. There was no plain black slate available. My question is, do you think this stuff I picked up is all natural ? I'm concerned about sealers etc... So far my gut tells me it's ok, but i figured I'd throw it out there for other opinions...


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## atreis (Jan 15, 2013)

Yes, it's natural and will be fine. It's just a less-pure type of slate (there are other types of rocks present too).


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Yeah, I don't think you'll have any issues. I've used "non-natural" tiles before without any problems so..?

Also, you'll want a masonry drill bit to pre-drill holes for the screws!


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## testtube (Jan 23, 2014)

I would use an ax to cut the wood up not a straight saw. If this is driftwood that has been in the water already I would put it in your tub and give it a good chlorine bath and let it soak as long as possible. Then let it air dry for several days to dissipate the Chlorine. Then put it in your tank with water to allow the white film to form and it will. Then take out the drift wood scrub clean and put back in your refilled tank. Make sure you get a pleco asap to control the white slime growth. This the procedure I used for my dirftwood, which is from mangroves, and I haven't had any problems for years.


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