# DIY tabs from river clay? & driftwood questions



## christappy (Jan 18, 2015)

*DIY tabs from river clay question & driftwood sanitizing method*

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone had experience using clay from a natural source to make root tabs? I was also wondering if anyone could verify that boiled driftwood still releases nutrients (that they are not lost in the boil with the parasites and nasties)?

I recently found some awesome driftwood from a local river, took it home and boiled the heck out of it for about 4 hours. I added it to my planted tank and 'bang!'..tons of new growth from all my plants. My amazon sword started shooting babies almost immediately, wisteria sent new roots from a few nodes higher up on the stem and tapegrass sending runners like crazy! I am assuming the driftwood, although boiled, has leached nutes into the water column. Would I be correct in this assumption?

Which brings me to my initial question of root tabs made from river clay. Since adding the driftwood has had such an impact, I was wondering if making some clay spikes would be beneficial as well. My plan is this:

-Collect clay from same riverbank as driftwood
-Put in double pot (pot of boiling water with a metal bowl (containing the clay) on top, so as to not have the clay directly on a heating surface)
-Add water to loosen mixture as moisture evaporates
-Let cool
-Form into spike shape
-Bake at 200f until hard (30-60 minutes?)
-DONE!

Some of the wood I found was partially submerged in the clay. Some you could tell was waterlogged in the past, but it had come loose and drifted on shore to dry. I am hoping adding straight clay to the roots will promote aggressive growth. I have an 18 inch 15 watt eco-tube and a 20 watt led strip....but the lighting is another thread on its own.

Everyone please chime in. I am very curious to hear what the community suggests!

Thanks to everyone!!

Here is a piece I am currently boiling. It was too large to fit into a regular pot...so i had to bust out the turkey roaster. Luckily my girlfriend is out camping with her sister, so I can stink the place up with my river bone boil.









Here is the one above and another one that I have boiled today.


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