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FW:
>
> I have tried a few times to post to aquatic-plants at actwin_com but to no
> avail. I have been a lurker and wanted to contribute for a change.
> I have given up after three attempts at sending. I would ask that you please
> post this in my behalf.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rex
>
> ------
>
> I have recently had driftwood frustrations as well. All three of my pieces
> were purchased from a lfs. One did not sink very well for days and two of
> them (maybe all three) leached tannins in my tank and turned the water
> brown. Well I finally went on a crusade to clean them up and found that
> others have tried the following to sink the driftwood and to force most of
> the tannins to leach (all of which is in preparation to add your driftwood
> to your aquscape).
> 1) Hose it down real well and use a non-soap scrub pad to take off the tiny
> pieces that will come off anyway in your tank. Watch out for the type of
> scrub pad you use to be sure that there is no soap in it. Some come
> pretreated with soap. You can also take this opportunity to shape your
> driftwood like you want it, with a hammer chisel and drill. My clown loaches
> really appreciate the cave I made for them.
> 2) Boil it. This works well if you have a pot big enough or a piece of wood
> small enough. When your boiling water turns brown. Dump out the water and
> boil it again. I am guessing that you will want to tie yours down so that it
> is forces to be immersed in boiling water. This also kills any (desirable or
> undesirable) bacteria and fungus in your wood.
> 3) If you cannot find a pot big enough, try a hot bath. No, not for
> yourself! :-) It is for the wood. But I suppose the bath wouldn't hurt you
> though. There might be a draw back here. It might stain your tub brown. Not
> a desirable color in my opinion. Alternatively you could boil water and add
> it to a 5 gallon bucket as a different sort of bath. Again when the water
> turns dark brown repeat the bath.
> 4) Place your driftwood in your dishwasher and wash it (no soap) with the
> hot cycle. When the cycle goes to dry it, repeat the wash. You will want to
> run your dishwasher without the driftwood first to clean out any residual
> soap in there.
>
> Now the pep talk. Why? Because you will need it. This take some persistance
> (at least for the tannin leaching). Be prepared to repeat these steps until
> you are successful at getting your driftwood to sink and not leach tannins.
> I boiled/bathed mine about ten times over the course of days. I then threw
> it in the dishwasher about ten times. They don't leach as much tannins as
> they did before so I am satisfied. Honestly, I think you should be prepared
> to do this where ever you get your driftwood, except if it is presoaked.
> However, presoaked driftwood is much more expensive.
>
> Good Luck,
>
> Rex
>
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