How To Prepare Large Driftwood For Aquariums
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ต.ค. 2018
- If its important to cure/prepare small pieces of driftwood by boiling it, it must be even more important to cure larger...HUGE pieces, but how? You...well I, certainly could not boil the driftwood I collected for my 350 gallon aquarium, so here's what I did👍
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I did the same a couple of summers ago. I put the driftwood in a garbage can on my deck and switched out the water every couple of days. One suggestion to viewers that don't have access to a pressure washer, could go to a car wash and use the rinse only setting. Thank you! Your tanks are beautiful!
Thank you, that's a brilliant idea
Oops I just said the same thing. Didn't realize.
Thank you for being a genius!!
Only concerns with the carwash, is both the chemical cleanser that has permeated the hose, and the petroleum based "wax coat" that will also have permeated the hose.
Excellent idea, I am not sure if it's worth the risk though.
@@Lazy_Fish_Keeper,The hose at the car wash are chemical resistant otherwise they would be replacing the hoses on a continuous basis.
I have come up with my own method after previously commenting on this video. The method I came up with is leaving drift wood in a kitty pool filled with water for a long period of time over winter. It has been soaking for nearly 5 months 2 of which the pool was covered in a thick layer of ice. The wood has in fact waterlogged and been freed of tannins. It took a while but I really don’t care how long it takes. The wood is now being used in my native tank.
And the freezing water would most likely kill any parasites...very interesting method. How's the condition of the pool after freezing?
DWSDARIUS FISH TANKS it’s perfectly fine
@@dwsdarius parasites will survive freezing, as Jurassic Park said "life will find a way"
No host for 5 months, plus freezing temps? Especially if the water is salted?
That should work. Even on parasites that utilize cysts to survive droughts/dry seasons.
Thank you!! I was thinking of going down to our river and collecting my decor but had no idea where to go from there!
Thank you very much for this tutorial. I needed this.
i had always wondered about big pieces of driftwood i've found. thanks man
Thanks for watching!
Gorgeous tank Darius.
You did more than I ever have with large wood pieces. Kudos
Lol, Thanks
Awesome job man! I know you’re already a pro at this, but keep following your dreams
You can also go to a self car wash and use the pressure washer there. Just keep it on high power rinse. Great vid. Thanks
I’m in love with this aquarium
Clever idea thankyou for sharing.
This is looking amazing! Awesome looking fishes I love it!
Thank you!
Very helpful vedio...thank you very much
Awesome, thanks for the pressure washer idea!
Boil water in a kettle and pour it on the wood.
It will take several hundred attempts, but eventually it will achieve the same goal
Great Information... The Tank is so beautiful I like it.. 👍👍😎✌️
Thank you!
Excellent information! Thanks!
Your channel is one of the best on youtube. I hope you got more subscribers👍👍👍
Thank you!
Looking good bro👌 another very informative vid👌👌 man the fish in the 350 looks sooo at peace. U can tell the Red Devil is the Boss with the hot sauce 🔥🔥... That tune had me jign a bit LoL. Keep up the great work my brother ✊💯💯✌️
Lol, thanks...yes I'm loving the peace
Your aquarium turned out great
THANKS ALOT 🐠
Great video bro! I was able to boil driftwood in a 55 gallon drum but I did not think of the salt soak. Thank you as always for the awesome tip and video Darius! Always wear shoes with pressure washer use!
Yes, the salt is something I had not thought of also. Thank you for the shared knowledge.
Thanks, yes I saw your video definitely my next way in the future...and yes I got too comfortable with pressure washer
The Fish Beast what kinda salt did you use ?
👍🏼this tank is unreal
Thank you!
problem solved! exactly what i came here for! thx
Nice video 👍🏻
Nice video. Good idea on the trash can. Maybe I'll use a submersible water heater to heat that sucker up.
That would definitely work
Great effort man!!! Always interesting
Thank you
I've seen people using vinegar with the salt treatment, seems to be of great help too, I don't think you need to heat the water necessarily but I can't deny higher temperatures will increase the parasite's metabolism so yeah, maybe it does help to get them more vulnerable to the affected conditions of their surroundings with the salt and vinegar.
You can make a steam box any size you need and steam everything.
Not that...is a good idea! I'll have to give that a shot
Good idea
Your tank looks awesome 😎.
Thank you!
Great vid bro. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it. Thanks for all the help you always provide
Thank you for wathing!
Luckily for me I live in the south and crawfish boils are second nature so I am able to get a pot big enough to just boil the large pieces of wood at well over 200 degrees 💯
Same thing I used. I just waited till crawfish season was over.
This is really my favourite Channel!
Thanks for your nice Videos,
it is very enlightening,
Waiting for your latest update.
Driftwood Parkette
Thank you!
Good advice im preparing for my 120 gallon and have a few pieces of driftwood to choose from that are too big to boil thank you. 😁
Thanks for watching!
@@dwsdarius thank you for combining great editing with awesome explanations. I've been looking for well-illustrated explanations on why & how to clean (even store bought should be prepped like this. I know someone who had a 200 gallon crash, because wood bought at the fish store had been contaminated when the LFS property manager had the properties sprayed for bugs).
Glad to find you, and subscribe!
I would advise people wear shoes while pressure washing, I had a mate I used to work with, peel all the skin from his ankle down right off. Those pressure washers don't mess around
That's true!
🤦🏼♀️
I placed my large pieces in a large trash can added salt and super hot water from my tap using the sprayer. I refreshed every couple of days.
That's a good way...my tap can put out some very hot water so I'll have to try it out
Love the video and the tank. Unfortunately for me I will have to wait for summer
Thanks, yes same with me, any other wood I find won't be cure until next year
I live in an apartment, there are work arounds.
Industrial sized pots for wood up to 24", or use salt water + paragard and soak in the (not stocked, not planted) tank with an aquarium heater set to 85° for a week or two.
2:24 got a fish staring right into my soul
Hello nice channel😁 about preparing the driftwood, i think you can get an oil ton of and cut in half,or cut the Top off, and make some legs to put it on, and then make a fireplace outside so you can boil the water
Thank you this, very informative as I just found myself some large pieces of driftwood for 125. Do you have any recommendations for water logging your large pieces?
Great video 👍🙏
Thank you
Good vid
Nice tanks man. I think your using of Epson salts is brilliant, though I would soak the wood for a while to leach out all of the salt prior to use in your tank. Pressure washing is spot on also, and folks who do not possess a pressure washer could make use of their local self serve car wash (make sure not to use their detergent). I soak my Basalt and Jasper in hydrochloric acid which does a great job of clearing many minerals but you also need a long soak before use.
Thank you!
Use a 55 gallon barrel build fire underneath this is how I boil my large driftwood
Hello Darius, thanks for the instructions. I now get to build my aquarium without having to pay 90€ for wood alone.
Pro tip, if you live in cold sad Europe you can use your aquarium thermostat for heating the water to 25 deg C. I plucked my wood from some forest as there isn't flowing water where I live. All cleaned up now
3 months later and we're still doing excellent with the wood. Most tannis are washed out though.
Like I mentioned I heated the water in my aquarium and put the wood in. I added a very large amount of soda and got the pump running. After a week or two I took it out and gave it a few good rinses.
Two months ago I added the plants and I put the fish in about a month ago. Everything is still looking great in my 120 litre tank!
Use one of those commercial pots like for soup kitchens...you can boil some big suckers in those! Relatively inexpensive online.
Never thought of that...I'll have to see if I can find one, THANKS!
Dee thanks for your time and showing us the step methods u took. Appreciate it enjoy your weekend. 🎥👍
Thanks for watching
Hey, I am working on a new idea for large driftwood boiling. My thought is to get a huge galvanized metal livestock tank from a farm supply store, build a paving stone C-shaped wall that supports three of the sides (leaving one long side open). Then I plan to get some kind of powerful propane burners (the kind people use for frying turkey outdoors), and set them underneath, and boil all the water in the tank. I'm not sure if it will work - I don't know much about the kind of burners involved. But I wanted to pass the idea along, in case you or someone else wants to experiment on your own. Thanks for sharing your technique!
That 350 gallon is amazing. I boiled my Malaysian driftwood and have had it submerged now for over 4 months. I’m slowly getting there. Results will be worth it.
Still amazed your red devil is so mellow. I’ve never seen a red devil that wasn’t insane.
Me too...but I still have to keep an eye on him because they can change overnight
Thank you, wow...that way you won't have to worry about tannins
You could also go to the car wash and use their pressure washer. Might cost a few dollars but it's worth it to make sure your fish don't catch anything.
Lance Busch, great idea...after doing a hot water pre-soak with bleach water, I'm gonna let it sit for a few days and follow up with your car wash idea!
I have a few hiking trials in walking distance but no car wash. Oh boy am I gonna get a weird look when I ask my friends if I can go to the carwash next time with them lol
Is roasting the wood an option? Specially in winter...
Car wash/trash liners(3mill) rinse cycle
We use crawfish size pots outside and flip over if it is that big. 1/2 of it then the other 1/2. We also use a fish cooker and can do it outside
How long did the drift wood stay in the trashcan
What is my option if I don't have a pressure washer?? Took me forever to find the video I needed, so you are amazing!!
Nevermind. I should of watched the entire video first.
A lot of people recommended going to your local carwash, which I think is a great idea
A large metal canister like you see on the movies and a bomb 🔥and you can boil large peices for as long as you want.
Great video. Just one question, followed this vid step by step now for how long do I leave the driftwood in the salt bath and do i need to soak it in water without salt afterwards?
I was wondering the same thing…
What do you do about the rough edges and sharp places on the wood? Is there a way to “sand” it down?
Yes regular sand paper will smooth it down easily
anyone know how i can stop driftwood from actually drifting? 😅
Tie it down to rocks or use silicone to connect it to rocks
I was just at the river and the piece of drift wood we have (as in who ever is there at the time) use as a fishing pole holder finally got sucked in to the river again. I could not let it just float away so I fished it out (we have some crazy flooding here in Missouri today and for the next few days) so It is in the back of my car. I think I will turn the tub water on until it is super hot, get a big container of salt, and scrub brush and Scrub it in sections and then drop it back in as I go. I assume 2 or 3 sessions of this will be good. Or how ever many until I have effectively clean water after a scrub then a final soak in hot water no salt to remove as much salt also?
It will be very hard to scrub it until the water is clean, it takes months to remove tannins that come from the wood...the main concern is any parasites that may be living on the exterior of the wood so a few scrubs and periods of soaking should be fine
Boiling is good idea..i think its best if u need too.. i usually find the pure dead wood thats all white etc just rinse it in warm salt water ..
i use a submersible heater, the water will get over 100deg to achieve the boiling point
Take it to a automatic spray wash, put some change in. And spray it. Place in a trash bag, and take it back to do the rest of the processes.
Has anyone tried putting driftwood in the microwave or the oven? That should kill lots of stuff without the need to boil in a pot no? Would only work for small pieces tho'.
I have a large piece of Irish bog wood that is hollow and at the moment I am just using my shower at high setting.
Curious. If you leave it to dry out in the sun for days .. would that not kill a lot of parasites that require a wet environment to survive..?
Some parasites can survive out of water for days...but honestly a good week of full sun (completely drying the wood) should do...my method is just for extra precautions
Are those barks on the wood that you didn't remove?
Most of the bark came off...it was just a few tight spots that I couldn't get to
My wood didn’t sink. Can you help ?
Showed the aquarium to my spouse who is still not completely sold on the whole aquarium thing.
They thought your aquarium was gorgeous, and then was stunned to see the size of the wood during the pressure wash...🤣
Thank you for the size perspective, lol.
When I had the giant tanks, I kept a stock tank to treat the big wood. I actually used to buy the trifecta (erythromycin, paragard, and Ich-x) and dose the smaller hardscape for a soak. Anything that needed more than 100 gallons of water got boiling salt water poured over it/stock tank topped off with the hot water tank and a week long soak, followed by a freshwater soak.
I don't recommend boiling rocks, especially igneous rocks. They have a tendency to explode when the air pockets heat up and expand. Pouring boiling water over rocks is pretty effective, especially if you let them soak overnight.
Lots of research coming out on the medicinal values of tannins for fish, for anyone who can get used to the darker water. It can make the water a little more acidic, so people like me with 8.4 pH tapwater can use black water (lots of tannins) to lower the pH sufficient for shrimp and a wider assortment of fish. Maybe not caradinas or long arm shrimp, but the neos enjoy the tannins and the harder water.
Great video, thank you for explaining the importance of properly prepping wood. I've seen some TH-camrs over the past month crash some tanks by not taking the time to do proper wood prep.
We can be lucky for years, and not have a problem.
All it takes is one time of *not* being lucky, and we can crash the whole system.
Thank you, wow never knew about the possibility of exploding rocks while boiling...that would be a nightmare
Darius, you should get a heated power washer if you’re doing this a lot.
The thing i do is using preasure water first, and then taking it on the shower using the most hot water i have, and then i do a preasure water again😊
If I let the wood dry up for a few months does it work?
Yes, any aquatic hitchhikers need water to survive so months without it should eliminate them. It has to be completely dry though because some algae can survive with the moisture from rainfalls
Anything specific with boiling? Put the rocks or wood in water thats already boiling? How long do you boil? How long do you keep the rocks/wood in the water?
When boiling piece people usually leave the wood/ rocks in the water for 10-15 minutes and that will kill any hitch hikers on it. With wood you can boil, drain, add freshwater and boil again 5-6 times to remove tanins faster
@@dwsdarius Thank you!
You could build a heat tent with blankets and cardboard or furniture. Put a heater on one opening. Control the temperature with a thermometer.
Pay attention - don't start a fire!
Let it sit in the heat for a couple of hours.
I already did that for wood I used for decorating a wall above my bed. I didn't put it into an aquarium, but still ...
I even eleminated a small ant colony with ants trickling out dead afterwards out of a hole in the branch.
Can I use salt used for water softener?
Honestly I'm not sure
I use Alcohol in a spray bottle. Then I put it in the shower and crank up the hot water.
That's a awesome way, never considered using alcohol
I wonder about acetone. That evaporates super quickly and doesn't seem to leave any residue.
@@gordonyork6638 for that reason I think alcohol is more pure
I pick my wood up from a little forest around my house its it ok? And can i use kitchen salt
Yes its okay as long as you prepare it and yes kitchen salt also works
@@dwsdarius can i get your discord to show you the wood i have your help could be much appreciated
@@jorldan5440 sure, do you have pictures?
@@dwsdarius yeah
If it was winter and you weren’t in a rush could you just leave the wood to soak for a couple of months and let the water the wood is in freeze?
That's interesting...freezing it should kill any parasites...I'll look into that method, thanks
DWSDARIUS FISH TANKS thank you
How long do you boil the driftwood for
Once the water hits boiling point it should kill any living hitch hikers, prolonged boiling will help remove tannins, I usually go for 30 mins to an hour
What if you would add Methylene Blue to the water would that work ? for example if I clean the wood as good as possible and sand it down than wash it in the bathtub do the aquarium setup with no fish and use Methylene Blue and leave it like that for a few days .. than do 2 full water changes before adding fish .
would that work ??
Wouldn't that stain the wood a bluish color?
@@davidleary9645 I tried and the answer is no. But I don`t know for how long you should do it until it does the job. Boiling the wood is still the best solution but again if the wood is too big you can do your best with hot water , salt and methylene blue.
I did not work on this too much because I haven't felt it was good enough or safe enough for the fish. I prefer to have smaller pieces of wood which I can boil than to risk it.
What do you think about spraying with mix of water vinegar and bleach for few days
I wouldn't use bleach because the wood will absorb it and possibly release it back into your tank
@@dwsdarius what if you spray with water after for few days before putting it in tank
Could you treat the wood (adding an extra step) with your favorite dechlorinator after a bleach soak?
@@stephenmellott8921 of course let it soak for few days change the water every day until the smell goes a way on the wood you don’t need to add decolonization until the day it’s ready to put it in the tank
What if we don’t have driftwood??
What is that fish with the stripes on his tail called?
Flagtail Prochilodus
@@dwsdarius lol I seen your vid after I asked im one of those people lol but love your vids and your tank set ups so thanks for the great and helpful content!
How about adding potassium permanganate to water and then adding wood in that for 3 days?
Honsetly I'm not sure how that would work out
@@dwsdarius ok
Never boil stones, they can explode due to possible trapped liquids.
How often should I put salt in?
When treating wood, just once...the first salt and heat combo should kill all hitch hikers on it
DWSDARIUS FISH TANKS Do you do anything to get the salt off? I imagine it would later leach into the water. This is a great video and I’d like to give it a try. 🙏
Why is the water keeps turning brown in the aquarium despite being treated with hot water and placing in separate container with salt for almost 2 weeks.
Must have had a thick piece...consistent water changes will help remove the tanins quicker
The brown water is the tannins. Some woods (like maropani) have way more tannins than others. Dragonwood has red sap ('dragon's blood') which can negatively affect the tank if it's not completely soaked out of the wood (can take months) before you put it in the tank.
Tannins (unlike sap) are actually beneficial for fish. I have a few black water tanks where I deliberately boost tannin levels for the fish.
The rest of my tanks are crystal clear.
Just get a burner hook up to propane tank and use a metal oil drum, that's what I did to boil mine.
I did the same thing. I have a trunk wash place close to where I live and they have steel drums. I cut the top off and viola. Here the question I have, can you use rock salt as opposed to epsom salt? It’s cheaper and larger amounts.
And as someone else asked, do you have to do a clean water soak to get residual salt out of the wood?
@@williamavongaurd7794 I don't bother with salt
@@conman20000 duh!!! Well I started doing some research and found that the salt kills of and stops rot. Just started to look up “salt treated wood”. So I’m currently boiling up a few more pieces of wood in rock salt water. Then I’ll pressure wash it and soak it in some melted snow, might as well use the snow rather then pay for the water bill. Thank for the reply.
What kind of propane burner did you use, if you don't mind? And how many gallons of water would you think that a single burner can boil? Thank you!
@@SlayMeatClouds I just used one my grandpa had in his shop, it's a little stand big enough to hold a barrel on. Hooks right up to a propane tank, and it only took about 30mins to start boiling that oil drum i used, which is about 40 gallons worth of water.
There's car wash pressure washers all over the place. Typically costs $3 in quarters lol
The 450 looks amazing
450...I wish...350g!
DWSDARIUS FISH TANKS either way looks awesome my friend!!!
What could be done is to take the drft wood and cut it into pieces that can fit into your boiling pot.Be for boiling reference Mark's can be made so it can be assembled to it original shape and size The pieces can be assembled by using wooden dowels. The joint can be hidden by plants or treated bark stuck to the joints
Please find all that is wrong so I can learn before I try it for one of my tanks
Cutting it to size of the pot is great advice
Wait hold on . Lol is your tank a fresh water or salt water tank . Im new to your videos.
Wow, nice stuffs u got from the wild! Your video never stops to amaze me. Maybe because of ur deep manly voice. LMAO
Lol, thanks!
Nice But I noticed you didn’t have no shoes on with that power washer you’re lucky you didn’t get your toes lol
Lol, you know I was tempted to see what would happen if it hit my skin...luckily I didn't
Noice
Thanks
I just put mine in a large garbage can with water in the garage for about a week or two but then I got mine from a store.
Is salt OK even in an aquarium with tropical fish ?
Yes, as long as you take the time to do a freshwater soak to pull out the salt.
Salt is one of the best freshwater medications, as long as it is used responsibly and in moderation.
@@Lazy_Fish_Keeper thank you
Anyone experience with water peroxide or diluted chlorine? Warm water is simple, just use the aquarium heater
I think the peroxide is a good possibility, I have my doubts on the chlorine.
Nice tank, you need more plants.
Thanks, I do but the red devil destroys the instantly
boil the water in the pot then pour over logs it will kill everything that way as well
What if you took the large driftwood to a car wash and used their pressure wand to clean it.Just use rinse and no soap.:)
Use a galvanized garbage can, less the $20, with hot salt water.
Can you use rock salt, rather then epsom salt?