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Driftwood help please!


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I have found three pieces of wood that I want to put in my 4ft tank. They are all fairly old pieces of wood, which was recommended because I want to put my BNs in the tank. I've got them soaking in my bath (only thing big enough LOL) and they are slowly starting to sink. How long does it normally take for wood to sink? Also, they have started to develop this slimy algae on them. Should I just scrub it off as it appears? Change the water?

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Don't worry too much about algae or slime. All adds to he flavour for your bristlenose.

Just change the water every now and then to see what tannins are coming off the wood. Depends highly on the kind of wood I've found as to how long it takes to waterlog!

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I always soak first time round in hot water (just as it comes from the tap) it can help the wood to sink a little faster but can also help to leech the tannins a bit faster if thats what you want. As for how long it will take to sink... I have what looks like a sizeable chunk of tree trunk in my 3ft currently wedged under the tank rim AND weighted with a rock because after a month of soaking it still floated <_< this thing was no lightweight, believe me and I was amazed to see it float. More bubbles came out of that wood than a bloody spa bath!! Basically it will sink when its absorbed all the water it can, there is no set time frame. Jo

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Thanks guys. :) I did use hot water at first, but of course its gone cold now. I scrubbed off a bit of slime but otherwise it looks good. The water has stayed really clear so tannins don't seem to be a problem. It is about 75% sunk and my husband is complaining about having wood in the bath, so I'm going to put it in the tank tonight. :)

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I pick up pieces of wood (oak or gum tree) to put in the tank. I leave it outside in a water container for about 3 or 4 weeks until it's partially or completely sunk and then boil it for about 4 hours in a pot to kill any bacteria or bugs I don't want in the tank. This also get rid of a good proportion of the tannis in the tank, but my tank water is still likely to be yellowish for weeks. That doesn't bother my fish or make it look that bad at all.

Just be careful that the pieces of driftwood you pick up is not something toxic, coz some trees produce chemicals to ward off insects that will remain in the wood even long after they're dead.

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