# Finding driftwood



## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

in the coming week I'll be going to a small lake near Perry sound, It seems like it would be a great time to find some driftwood and rocks, however this does worry me. I know that anything wild found should be 'sanitized'. has anyone on the forum done this? did you have any issues or suggestions?

if you found driftwood have you ever affixed it to a rock like the picture attached? if so what did you use to drill through the rock?


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## kevinli1021 (Sep 9, 2010)

I'm not an expert but as long as you select hard wood (one without toxins) remove all the bark and boil I think it would be fine. At least most of the bacterial and fungal life would be gone. I'm unsure if there would be any sort of chemical residue would still be present after a boil but I personally will think it would be fine it if comes from a sanitary natural source


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Boiling is a good way to sanitize your wood. With larger driftwood I have put in the dishwasher without detergent and it was fine. As far as putting a hole in stone, slate etc. I used a bit designed for drilling concrete which you can pick up at Home Hardware and also use stainless steel screws. Good luck on your search.


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## northerncavefish (Mar 22, 2013)

I have used found driftwood from my lake in my tank. I just skinned it boiled it and then soaked it for a couple of weeks to get it waterlogged so it would sink. Be careful that you don't collect pine, it usually looks the most interesting but it is toxic. usually you can just break a piece off and smell it will tell you for sure.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

wouldn't brass screws be better? stainless steal screws sometimes rust still it seems.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

I had the same issue where i found some driftwood that was a root system but it smelled like cedar or pine. I couldn't have used it although could have saved it for a terrarium. I recall Dustin from Dustinsfishtanks used a soft wood in his tank in one of his videos. All i know is that you should not put wood in your tank until you know for sure that it is ok, or run a separate tank with it while it waterloggs with a couple fish so you dont run the risk of casualties in the masses.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

pyrrolin said:


> wouldn't brass screws be better? stainless steal screws sometimes rust still it seems.


In a word no.

Brass is an alloy mixture of copper and zinc(and other metals in trace ammounts), I would think there is the copper risk if you're keeping inverts.

Also brass is soft, and can bend/shear a lot easier than even softer stainless alloys.

Stainless can rust depending on the alloy used, and the water conditions, but it will likely only be surface discoloration and not affect the structure.

Also - re drilling slate - use a larger hammer drill as a countersink to drill the hole deep enough into the slate so that the head of the screw sits flush.


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

Thanks for all the responses, I'll keep this all in mind when I go looking.



Kimchi24 said:


> I had the same issue where i found some driftwood that was a root system but it smelled like cedar or pine. I couldn't have used it although could have saved it for a terrarium. I recall Dustin from Dustinsfishtanks used a soft wood in his tank in one of his videos. All i know is that you should not put wood in your tank until you know for sure that it is ok, or run a separate tank with it while it waterloggs with a couple fish so you dont run the risk of casualties in the masses.


Unfortunately I don't have a tank similar in size to 'quarantine' the drift wood. Wouldn't boiling it ensure its safe for the tank?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

One thing I am not sure was mentioned. It needs to be seriously dead, dry wood. You can't cut green wood or use freshly fallen pieces. Green wood needs to sit outside in the sun and rain for at least a year before you'd want to think of putting it in a tank, boiled or not. I have some nice maple branches I got from the roadside last summer. The hydro crew cut them to keep them clear of the power lines and I managed to snag some nice ones before they were collected. Been sitting in a friend's back yard ever since. I figure they'll be good to use this fall. The sap needs to age out, and most insects living in it will vacate once they find it's dying. Soaking or boiling takes care of any that happen to stick around.

You can soak it for a long time in a bucket rather than boil it, just changing the water periodically. It takes quite a long time before the water stops turning dark, but no smell from cooking it. I used to leave the bucket out on the balcony. Six months or so, before it stopped seriously darkening the water. Still leaches a bit, the tank water turns very slightly yellow, but each water change lightens that a bit more. The oldest piece is about a year under water now. I'm kind of hoping it stops leaching by next summer.

You can also put some bleach in with it, if you soak it, which I did with a few pieces. Sanitizes, will lighten the colour a bit, depending on the wood colour to start with, but not so much it will be white or beige.. and speeds up the colour leaching. Just rinse well and use some Prime or other dechlorinator before you use bleached pieces in a tank.

Btw, soaking works nicely for bigger pieces that won't fit into the largest pot you happen to have on hand.

If you can get the right size, they do make nylon bolts, which would likely be safer than any metal if you really want to fasten it to a slate weight. But just fyi, the ones you see with slate on the bottom are actually meant for reptile terrariums. The slate is there to keep them upright. But unless the wood is really wonky, by the time it has leached enough colour that you don't mind it, it will stay put wherever you place it.

It becomes water logged with time and that helps it sink. The wood that is typically fastened to slate is actually difficult to get waterlogged. I have one piece and had to tie rocks to it, to keep it under water. It's just a different type of wood, not a heavy hardwood like Mopani or the dark brown driftwood seen in LFSs. So if you find maple or oak, those are dense, heavy hard woods that are going to sink like rocks once they become waterlogged. So will most of the hard wood species. 

Don't get anything evergreen. The sap and resins may be toxic and they are not advised for tank use.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I have done this once or twice. 

I simply boiled the wood, let it soak for a week or so (changing half the container with fresh hot water daily) then sanded the base and used a simple concrete drill bit to drill through the slate.

I used a deck screw to fasten the wood and slate together (you know the green ones designed for all seasons). Never used the piece of wood under water though as it was for my tree frogs, so I don't know if the screw would be aquarium safe.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I don't think I would use a hammer drill on slate; too likely to crack it. with regard to softwoods, thousands of pieces of cedar have been sold in pet stores for many years. If it is weathered enough or has been soaking in a body of water long enough, I would suspect even pine would be ok.


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

BillD said:


> I don't think I would use a hammer drill on slate; too likely to crack it. with regard to softwoods, thousands of pieces of cedar have been sold in pet stores for many years. If it is weathered enough or has been soaking in a body of water long enough, I would suspect even pine would be ok.


I don't really want a piece of wood that I need to soak for a year, I'm planning on setting up the aquarium in a few months.

Also thank you for all the useful information, I'll definitely keep it in mind when I'm looking.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

Rigio said:


> I don't really want a piece of wood that I need to soak for a year, I'm planning on setting up the aquarium in a few months.
> 
> Also thank you for all the useful information, I'll definitely keep it in mind when I'm looking.


you dont have to soak for a year haha, just let it dry in the sun for a year if it is not completely dry and dead


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)




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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

Has anyone ever tried using silicone or fishing line to attach a rock to driftwood that is not waterlogged?


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

The wood that's pictured looks like it has been burnt I wouldn't use it.


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

bob123 said:


> The wood that's pictured looks like it has been burnt I wouldn't use it.


The root like one? I inspected it after you commented, I believe it was a darker spot caused by a shadow, as I did not find a burnt spot.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I have tied rocks to wood with all sorts of things.. including fish line. So long at it won't rot in water it works. Unlike moss tying you don't want it to fall off with time. Once the wood is soaked enough to sink on its own, cut the rock off.
Alternative is putting rocks on top to weigh the wood down, but that can be tricky, they tend to fall off.

Pretty good looking piece there in the pic. Certainly well dried out. If it was in the water for a long enough time it may not even leach all that much, though there is only one way to find out.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

The pics are larger than my screen but it looks like you rested the driftwood against another piece of driftwood to take pics?


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

pyrrolin said:


> The pics are larger than my screen but it looks like you rested the driftwood against another piece of driftwood to take pics?


That's correct, I was going to put both in together, do you think it would look odd together?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Once you debark that other piece it ought to look ok. Doesn't have to match. If it turns out the piece with bark is a lot darker than the other one, just bleach it a bit, and it will lighten it up some.


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

Fishfur said:


> Once you debark that other piece it ought to look ok. Doesn't have to match. If it turns out the piece with bark is a lot darker than the other one, just bleach it a bit, and it will lighten it up some.


They are both debarked but are bone dry, I'm going to have to either soak till waterlogged or tie them down to a rock


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Yep. It will take some time, but they will sink eventually.


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