# DIY or cheap Driftwood



## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

I think I've finally decided on a way to decorate my now bare 135G.

I'm thinking of just laying tiles on the the bottom and using driftwood. 

Now, I need a source for big pieces of driftwood. I'm perfectly cool just finding some on the shore of lake Ontario, is it safe for the water? Any ideas are super appreciated!!! Or how about even bogs and swamps near my house?

Michael


----------



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*driftwood*

im game too if u find a source , dont want to pay huge money at big als , ihave heard of a few people using stuff from lake ontario, i think as long as u boil it , i have seen pics of tiles in tanks and they look pretty good 
tom


----------



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

MichaelAngelo said:


> I think I've finally decided on a way to decorate my now bare 135G.
> 
> I'm thinking of just laying tiles on the the bottom and using driftwood.
> 
> ...


Also check out cheap dremel tools at Can.T. I think there was some Jobmate hand rotary tool for like $9.99 (fixed speed IIRC) and you can detail out some holes or enlarge holes in the wood for smaller fish and such.

Tom,

How the hell do you boil large driftwood pieces for the common folk? I just had a thought in mind but I don't think they would let you. I thought of asking a soup kitchen if you could have them use one of their soup pots to boil it but you'll likely get looks beyond looks and cited health concerns. Then again I was thinking horse watering bins but where the hell would you find a metal one? Would it harmful when boiling that metal?


----------



## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

Yeah how would you boil giant pieces?


----------



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Michael,

You got a backyard right? Own your own property? Get a shovel. I just got an idea that will cost you nothing.

Something I just remembered from my scouts day and memory flashback when I saw Survivorman. Well ok not really costing you nothing right now but you want a thick plastic bin tall enough to cover the driftwood you find.

You can boil water in plastic. I've seen it been done in a bottle. The other method that I'm thinking is a small pit fire and put some found rocks around and heat them up. Get the smores kit and put on your smores t-shirt and invite some friends over.

Gather wood locally for the fire. Heat up rocks (lots of rocks) then drop them into the plastic bin when they are hot and it'll heat the water up. Take out old rocks as you put new ones in. Enjoy the smores while prepping your driftwood.


----------



## Aquatic Designs (Apr 2, 2006)

While most driftwood sold at Big Al's is not really driftwood. It's just regular wood that has been sandblasted to look like its been surf pounded. They then attach a piece of slate to the bottom. One of the things i find really comical about this drift wood is they know it will be used in your aquarium but they use cheap screws. Come on. With the money that is charged on such inexpensive material you can't splurge and use a stainless steel screw that costs mere pennies more. 

The only stuff worth buying in any LFS is Mopani, African root or Malaysian mangrove root. 

And that stuff just can't be found in nature here in Canada. You can find very nice wood to put in your tank in many places. Boil it if it's small enough. If its huge and you need to cleaned. Take it to a sandblaster. They should only charge like $20 to blast it.


----------



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Aquatic Designs said:


> While most driftwood sold at Big Al's is not really driftwood. It's just regular wood that has been sandblasted to look like its been surf pounded. They then attach a piece of slate to the bottom. One of the things i find really comical about this drift wood is they know it will be used in your aquarium but they use cheap screws. Come on. With the money that is charged on such inexpensive material you can't splurge and use a stainless steel screw that costs mere pennies more.
> 
> The only stuff worth buying in any LFS is Mopani, African root or Malaysian mangrove root.
> 
> And that stuff just can't be found in nature here in Canada. You can find very nice wood to put in your tank in many places. Boil it if it's small enough. If its huge and you need to cleaned. Take it to a sandblaster. They should only charge like $20 to blast it.


Aquatic,

I see the sig got changed.  Anyways, if you sandblast the shore washed wood locally I'm curious would the wood not have soaked to the core any impurities in it's environment? Sandblasting I think only strips the the top layer if you lightly sand it and also help round some of the rough/sharp parts.


----------



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*driftwood*

i have been trying to get myself a large pot for doing alot of lobsters , but recently i have been toying with the idea , iim just gonna go and buy a cheap metal garbage can and use a propane bbq for doing corn or lobster boils


----------



## bae (May 11, 2007)

The main reason for boiling wood is to get it waterlogged so it will sink. It does leach out some of the tannins, too. Depending on the type and thickness of the wood, it will get waterlogged and sink if you put it in any convenient container and weigh it down. A few months in an old laundry tub on the patio will do most pieces, and you'll get all that natural aufwuchs on it for the delectation of your plecos, too. If you want to get the tannins out, change the water every couple of weeks or so. Btw, the water has to be liquid for this to work.

You can, of course, weight it down in your aquarium, and eventually it won't need the weights.

I'd be cautious about boiling wood in a metal garbage can. For one thing, they are usually galvanized steel, which means they have a surface layer of zinc, which can be quite toxic to plants, fish and invertebrates. You don't want that sinking into the wood. For another, they aren't intended to be exposed to heat. If they still solder the joints, you could end up with the seams opening. And the lead from the solder isn't something you really want soaking into the wood either. Note that the tannins in wood are acidic so metal is more likely to be dissolved.

The purpose of sandblasting, aside from making the wood look like driftwood, is to remove bark and other surface material that readily rots. You can remove this stuff yourself with any scraping tool, a knife, a wire brush, what have you.


----------



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*driftwood*

agreed about the garbage pail , will try to find a used huge pot someone has to have one , will wait till garage sale time and try to find one somewhere ,someon has to have one stuffed in a garage somwhere from making tomatoe sauce .lol


----------



## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

tom g said:


> someon has to have one stuffed in a garage somwhere from making tomatoe sauce .lol


hahahah!!! try woodbridge  I'm italian but we don't have one


----------



## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

Those huge pots can be bought at dollar stores. That is where I got mine.



MichaelAngelo said:


> hahahah!!! try woodbridge  I'm italian but we don't have one


And you call yourselves Italian... mamma mia!


----------

