# "SAFELY SEALING" MY DRIFTWOOD???



## fishpimpette (Dec 16, 2004)

Hello Fellow Fish Fans & Friends 

Well- I was doing a little reading into a book someone gave me "Aquariums for Dummies" (which I would have to say I am not  ) but anyhoo came across something I needed to confirm is good or not good to do.

It says that you can "safely seal" any piece of wood & examples are that you cannot get all the tannis out of -or- a piece you are not sure is "safe" for the water...

by doing 3 coats of polyurethane varnish applied to wood & letting each coat dry between coats.*" The varnish keeps wood from releasing any products that can affect your water conditions."*

If this *IS* possible to do then I would assume at least a 2 day soak in water in a bucket 1st before putting into the tank again?


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

hmm id assume the wood needs to be dry when its sealed...
anytime *** added dry driftwood it has to be held down by a fe brick sized rocks so it stops from floating....


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## kingdave (Mar 9, 2007)

Id worry about what happens when the polyurethane flakes off into the water, not only because fish might ingest the flakes, but because once the polyurethane starts flaking off it will continue to flake off. If you are going to use wood in a tank, it is my opinion that it should be done with fish that have wood in their natural environment, therefore the tendency of the wood to soften the water will actually be beneficial. If the darkening of the water is the main concern, this can be controlled partially by increased frequency of water changes and filtration by activated carbon (which needs to be replaced periodically one it's useful life is over).


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## fishpimpette (Dec 16, 2004)

I already have had the driftwood in the tank for a while now. Frequent water changes,soaking, boiling water poured on it etc. Been there-done that a million times. :roll: So I thought this would just make it easier..would not think of doing it except that the book does say "for dummies" LOL :lol:

I am afraid the wood has a root/knot that is the cause of the problem but I really like the wood so I was trying to make do.


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## kingdave (Mar 9, 2007)

Are you sure the cover of the book doesn't say "by Dummies"?


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## fishpimpette (Dec 16, 2004)

*kingdave*
:lol: :lol: You are a funny guy!


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## pandeka_minang (Apr 7, 2008)

hi there, i just love driftwood too, although i keep those beauty african cichlid, but i decorated my tank with full of driftwood, for floating one or dry driftwood i just use some concrete mix on the bottom, just go with DIY driftwood project by add some concrete that attach on to the bottom of driftwood. to stabilize the PH condition, i just add some DIY mineral ekstract to my tap water, so far so good it is already done for almost 3 month now.


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

You have to dry it to seal it. And sealing it prevents it from soaking up water which means the wood is going to float. You would need to screw it to a piece of slate to hold it down (quite a bit depending on how large the wood is).

I would just leave it as is. You can use activated carbon or a good organic adsorption resin to clear the water.

Andy


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

The resin coating will affect the appearance of the wood. And you will have to keep wood eating species like plecostomus out of that tank or they will chew through the resin to reach the wood. It would make more sense to buy a hollow resin replica of driftwood, than to do this.


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## Sheriman22 (Jun 5, 2015)

I was told that Purigen will take the T out the water from driftwood and is better than carbon. Told that it lasts longer than carbon and you can recharge it and reuse it so it'll go a long ways. Going to be trying on my tank instead of Carbon when I get my tank setup. Its worth a try bcos I have a sweet piece that leaks out a little as well.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

I do a lot of woodworking, and find that polyurethane off gasses for months as it fully cures. It would be one of the last things I'd ever knowingly put into my tanks.


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