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RE: Sterilizing driftwood



The bleach treatment over several days should be fairly effective at
killing any algae and bacteria. You can neutrlize the bleach by soaking
with a dilute solution of acid. I've used vinegar but there might be
other acids which are easier to neutralize afterward. To restore the
dark color of the wood, dry it thoroughly and then apply a blow torch.
Then you can scrub all the carbon off the surface with a wire brush and
it should look pretty nice.

If you start with wood that hasn't been in water, you don't need to
worry about algae and other pests that live in water. You could try tree
roots. Then you can skip all the disinfecting treatments.

I'm not sure that wood is all that great in an aquarium. I have a piece
of mopani in one of mine and the water still seems to have a yellow
appearance after a year of submersion. For landscaping, rocks will be a
lot more inert.
 
Steve Pushak                              Vancouver, BC, CANADA 

Visit "Steve's Aquatic Page"      http://home.infinet.net/teban/
 for LOTS of pics, tips and links for aquatic gardening!!!