# Driftwood not sinking...



## artemism3 (May 21, 2005)

I collected some driftwood from a local lake and have had them soaking in my spare bathtub for 6 weeks and have since moved them to a giant platic bin.

They still have not sunk!! Am I doing something wrong, or do I need to find other driftwood.

Thank you for answering my stupid questions!!

Jeremy


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

There is no stupid question here. 

Some of the driftwood just isn't dense/heavy enough to ever sink on it's own. Sometimes you either have to attach it to a rock or silicone it down, but if that's the case, it may decompose in your tank too fast. 
I've also heard lots of problems with wild collected driftwood fungusing in the tank, so you may want to take that into consideration.


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## artemism3 (May 21, 2005)

Thank you for the reply Jan!

I guess I was starting to question the composition of the pieces I collected...

I have seen some pics of driftwood from AquariumDriftwood.com.

Does anyone know if they are a good place to shop for centerpieces?

Thank you!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I've never bought anything from them, but I believe others have and been satisfied.

There are a few other places out there that sell nice pieces too, but my mind has drawn a blank.....  
Maybe someone else will chime in.


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

I believe floridadriftwood.com is another candidate with satisfied customers.

If you can fully submerge the wood in the bin I would just pile some rocks on it to keep from floating. Leave the wood in their for awhile while doing weekly 100% water changes. If it doesn't sink after that then it might make a nice piece in the garden!


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## spinex (Aug 19, 2005)

Boiling the driftwood helps in my case. You can try that.


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## Walter Klockers (Jan 21, 2005)

*Re: Driftwood*

If you've prepared the driftwood (boiled, soaked, etc.) and it still floats...? If you have a particular piece you want to use, purchace an appropriately sized flat piece of slate about 1/2" thick. Your LFS might have some. Also, go to a Home Depot or Lowes and look for nylon screws (1.5 - 2" in length). Like the one on the left here:

https://sdp-si.com/eStore/Group.ASP?GroupID=398

Use a drill bit specifically made for stone, that is the diameter of the screw threading, and drill a couple of holes through the slate to accomodate the screws. (You might want to do this outside, with a garden hose slowly providing a tad of water on the slate as the drill bit works through it). Once you have the holes in the slate, place the slate over area of the wood that you'd like, and drill through the holes into the wood. Obviously, the total length of the holes through the slate and wood must be equal to or greater than the length of the screws. Insert the nylon screws and place it in your tank.

If you'd like, you can remove the slate in a couple of months or so, when you're sure that the driftwood is waterlogged.


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## trystianity (Jul 21, 2005)

If drilling holes is too much hassle you can just super glue or silicone it to a rock, I like super/krazy glue because it doesn't require the curing and drying time that silicone does. Slate is good because it's flat and easy to hide in the substrate but any rock will do as long as it's heavy. You can also tie it but then you have to camouflage the tying material.  I attach my wood to rocks a lot of the time because I'm way too impatient to soak it for any length of time.

Wood fungusing in your tank is ugly but not really harmful, it's easy to remove with a siphon and usually goes away on its own in a few weeks. Extra current in the tank also helps.


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## Dino Copella (Jul 11, 2005)

Get a great big stock pot, fit as many pieces of driftwood as you can into it, add water and start boiling. Every once in a while you'll have to change the water due to leached tannins that turn the water tea-colored. Keep boiling until the wood sinks, which, mind you, can take up to eight hours in my experience. Yes, this is an all day event! At that point you'll be able to tell if any pieces of wood are unusable because of their tendency to rot; you'd be able to scrape chunks of flimsy bark off with your fingernail very easily. Discard them or feed em to your pleco. As for the sunken driftwood, keep submerged, if you can, until the day you set up your aquarium (outside in a kiddie pool works well, but cover to avoid direct sunlight).


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## artemism3 (May 21, 2005)

Haven't had too much time to play with the wood yet, plus I don't have a big enough stock pot...walmart is calling tomorrow!!


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

artemism3,

I've bought from aquariumdriftwood.com a couple times and have been very satisfied with their prices, service, and product. If you let Carrie know what you're looking for she'll take some time and do a custom search for you. The only issue with their product is that it has to remain waterlogged or it will float. 

Regards,
Phil


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## artemism3 (May 21, 2005)

Thanks Phil! I will be calling them soon if my driftwood does pan out with boiling!

Jeremy


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