curing driftwood

[truthequalslies]

I'm curing (boiling) some driftwood for my tanks I have no idea what kind it is but is it normal for it to give off a sweet smell? Its a very earthy smell but also sweet?

[Pomsizzle]

Well what river did you get it from? because now-a-days bigo company dump waste in the rivers. So I would just make sure that there is no toxic waste. I normally boil it in aquarium salt to just to make sure that there is nothing left.

[truthequalslies]

It came with a tank I scored offa craigslist I scrubbed it then boiled it with vinegar for an hour then rinsed and boiled rinsed and boiled rinsed and boiled took bout 4 hours and now I'm letting it dry is this a good. Method?

[truthequalslies]

Well I added the driftwood to my tank last night, is it normal for a clear film to grow on it?

[truthequalslies]

[Pomsizzle]

Uhh, no. I dont think so. I Would remove it and wash it agian. that doesnt look good.
try boiling it in salt water.
aqarium salt only

[Oldfishlady]

Looks like a harmless fungus that normally occurs on heated wood-my shrimp, snails, pleco. ottos love feeding on it and it resolves on its own with time, however, if you don't have anything in the tank to help eat it-you may want to remove on occasion and scrub it off in some cool dechlorinated water. It can some times cause your water to cloud some and water only change should clear it up

How big is the tank-filter, live plants-did the wood sink okay

Be careful using vinegar on thing like wood that can absorb it-more due to the pH change it can cause- also bleach can be absorbed and cause problems for fish....be careful.....good that you didn't use it.......

[truthequalslies]

I made my own filter with a waterbottle som gravel an some polyfiber then stuck an airline in it to circulate
Its 6 gallons right now its just got some live plants and a dwarf puffer and a guppy to test agression weather its safe to add anything else
That's why I boiledand rinsed like 5 times after the vinegar jic
I took it out scrubbed it and boiled it in saltwater an its now soaking in a bucket it was real slimey lol
The wood sank but not completely so I tied a big rock to it with fish line