New driftwood

I got my driftwood in the mail yesterday. It was
sitting on my desk, when I got back from lunch at work. It's 8-12 inches, and it will fit very nicely into my 10 gallon tank. I just don't know if I want it sitting there in the middle of the tank, or slanted off the wall of my tank. I took my driftwood home to prepare it.








Since driftwood is from a natural environment it is a good idea to clean your driftwood. By boiling it for 30 minutes or more, doing this will help release the tannins from the wood. Tannins can stain your aquarium a tea color if your wood is not properly treated. Also kills any organisms that may be present in your wood. I will be boiling my wood later on this week a few more times to make sure I get most of the tannins out. It's kind of like steeping a tea bag.



Next I ended up filling a bucket with water, and some Prime. I then added the piece of wood to my bucket and will leave it in there for a week or so, depending on how long it takes for the water to be clear. My driftwood is Malaysian so it is already heavy and will sink to the bottom. One most wood it is a good idea to keep wood in water to water-log it so that it stays on the bottom of your aquarium. I have heard that it can take a month or so before wood is ready to put into aquarium.

I'll take pictures once I get the driftwood into the aquarium.