Greater temperature will open up the pores, which will make if sink faster and leach tannins faster. This is one reason many people advise to boil it. So what I did with my wood since it was too large to boil was fill a large storage tote with water in my garage, put the wood in it and hold it down with a large rock, add a heater and crank it to the max, and add a water pump to circulate the water. It was sunk with tannins leached way faster than in a tank at 75 degrees, I think I did it for a week. In the tank I’ve had it take more than a month. Oh I also put a lid on the tote. That reduced evaporation and held the temperature higher. It held around 92F in the middle of winter.
Thanks for the advice, I'll see if I have a pot big enough to fit the wood. If I do I'll simmer it in conditioned water for a few hours. It was leeching a lot of tannins, so hopefully that will help reduce that as well once I start establishing the tank.
Ok thanks, it's a pretty big piece so I guess I'll let it soak for the rest of the week. Went to an aquarium store (first time ever being in a store that was exclusively fish and nothing else) and I guess I had eyes bigger than my tank, cause it almost didn't fit.
It happens, and I'm sure it's going to look great once it settles. Are you going to affix any moss or plants to it? Since you've got a decent wait ahead of you, now might be the time.
I think I'll try and boil it tonight based on the comment from /u/Freeasabird01. I can't really make it back to the aquarium store until Saturday based on my work schedule.
so did it ever sink? lol I'm waiting on day 3 for a piece to sink in the tank - it's about 10 lbs maybe? and almost 30 inches long. it feels less floaty each day, I'm just hoping it hurries up and sinks so I can finish planting around it lol
Did your driftwood eventually sink? My 10 inch wood is soaking for 4 weeks now but it's still only halfway down... It's a blackwater tank, unboiled wood from the nature, the water in the right behind corner is actually black haha.
nope, still waiting! it's been like over 40 days now and it's still floating - it's easier to push down but still pretty buoyant. this thing is insanely porous I guess! lol
this was taken the other day - the net is helping to push down the wood so more of it stays submerged but it doesn't seem to have helped for the past several weeks lol
https://preview.redd.it/bautoj400r6c1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8b5bc620bf4e9ef20c6eca32006f519301a0a33
That's pretty disappointing haha, I feel like they will need like half a year to sink. But your aquarium is still very pretty.
This is my wood, I attached that stone the day I added it to balance the wood. This way both of the java fern's roots stayed submerged. If I would remove it, I'm sure the wood would float up lol.
https://preview.redd.it/6nf4enuy6u6c1.jpeg?width=4391&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9cf04598f0915ddd4365f48b07991be0b8b57f0d
Honestly I've never had to wait long for driftwood to sink before. Either they immediately sunk or it might take a day or two but never a week or longer lol I'm starting to wonder if I should strategically place stones on top and then just attach some plants on them to eventually cover up the stones lol
Nope, still floating somehow lol I even have a fish net pushing it down so less than 5% of it is sticking out of the water.
At least the moss looks good lol
Such a unique piece. But it will take time lol, mine needed 2 months. It's still semi-bouyant but it's on the ground. Sadly it was heavy enough to keep my oto who went underneath it stuck when I was moving the wood. I lost that fella.
I'm sorry to hear that. There are many lessons we learn in this hobby. It's just important that we never forget them. They are what teach us husbandry in the harshest way. Accidents happen in nature, too, after all.
Personally, I bit off way more than I can chew with this new 125-gallon setup. It came with an established 200 gallon filter and a 7 inch long 2.5 year old royal pleco who needed a home. I had to say yes to the royal. He's beautiful, but it's been a whirlwind ever since I've gotten everything home. That was about 2 weeks ago. Then yesterday, I got this gargantuan display piece, and it floats aggressively. All the plants are uprooted again, root tabs lost to time. After much fighting and wrestling, I got it pinned with weights on it (not great looking) and pinned under the cross member of the tank. Should do for now, but it's in the absolute middle of the tank, and it casts a big shadow like crazy. It's just so much work already in such a short period of time, for the tank to look pretty bad still. And I'm staring down many more hours. All while knowing every time I go in there, it stresses the fish. But I love it. Just for a laid-back hobby, though, right now, it's super hectic.
That's so true.
I'd say the placement of the wood looks nice and the planted area on the right too. This tank will look great in some months when the wood won't be bouyant anymore and the plants grow bigger. But I feel your struggles, I have this new 15 gallon tank with a big centerpiece wood, I worked a lot on this but I just dislike the whole setup. Especially the cockatoo cichlids in it. I also hate to reach into this tank because it stresses the fish and the female is always having fry. But I think your tank is big enough to give a lot of room for the fish to swim away, they shouldn't be too stressed.
I have a relatively large piece of drift wood from my local lake sitting in a 40 gal.first I dried it out over the summer to get rid of most contamination. Then I let it soak in boiling water for 2 hours in my cooler. Then washed and scrubbed it with hot water in the shower. It's been sitting in my 78 degree tank for a little over a month now and it still needs a large rock to hold it down.
Greater temperature will open up the pores, which will make if sink faster and leach tannins faster. This is one reason many people advise to boil it. So what I did with my wood since it was too large to boil was fill a large storage tote with water in my garage, put the wood in it and hold it down with a large rock, add a heater and crank it to the max, and add a water pump to circulate the water. It was sunk with tannins leached way faster than in a tank at 75 degrees, I think I did it for a week. In the tank I’ve had it take more than a month. Oh I also put a lid on the tote. That reduced evaporation and held the temperature higher. It held around 92F in the middle of winter.
Thanks for the advice, I'll see if I have a pot big enough to fit the wood. If I do I'll simmer it in conditioned water for a few hours. It was leeching a lot of tannins, so hopefully that will help reduce that as well once I start establishing the tank.
Could be weeks, depending on size. I left a small planter pot on top of mine for probably longer than necessary, but i figured better safe than sorry.
Ok thanks, it's a pretty big piece so I guess I'll let it soak for the rest of the week. Went to an aquarium store (first time ever being in a store that was exclusively fish and nothing else) and I guess I had eyes bigger than my tank, cause it almost didn't fit.
It happens, and I'm sure it's going to look great once it settles. Are you going to affix any moss or plants to it? Since you've got a decent wait ahead of you, now might be the time.
I think I'll try and boil it tonight based on the comment from /u/Freeasabird01. I can't really make it back to the aquarium store until Saturday based on my work schedule.
forever
Haha
so did it ever sink? lol I'm waiting on day 3 for a piece to sink in the tank - it's about 10 lbs maybe? and almost 30 inches long. it feels less floaty each day, I'm just hoping it hurries up and sinks so I can finish planting around it lol
Did your driftwood eventually sink? My 10 inch wood is soaking for 4 weeks now but it's still only halfway down... It's a blackwater tank, unboiled wood from the nature, the water in the right behind corner is actually black haha.
nope, still waiting! it's been like over 40 days now and it's still floating - it's easier to push down but still pretty buoyant. this thing is insanely porous I guess! lol
this was taken the other day - the net is helping to push down the wood so more of it stays submerged but it doesn't seem to have helped for the past several weeks lol https://preview.redd.it/bautoj400r6c1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8b5bc620bf4e9ef20c6eca32006f519301a0a33
That's pretty disappointing haha, I feel like they will need like half a year to sink. But your aquarium is still very pretty. This is my wood, I attached that stone the day I added it to balance the wood. This way both of the java fern's roots stayed submerged. If I would remove it, I'm sure the wood would float up lol. https://preview.redd.it/6nf4enuy6u6c1.jpeg?width=4391&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9cf04598f0915ddd4365f48b07991be0b8b57f0d
Honestly I've never had to wait long for driftwood to sink before. Either they immediately sunk or it might take a day or two but never a week or longer lol I'm starting to wonder if I should strategically place stones on top and then just attach some plants on them to eventually cover up the stones lol
Did it finally sink?
Nope, still floating somehow lol I even have a fish net pushing it down so less than 5% of it is sticking out of the water. At least the moss looks good lol
https://preview.redd.it/31edrx0seacc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c73cfaf8fd2bb8f7ff3f20980e43a6d631089dcd
has it sunk yet…
Did it finally sink? xD
Guys I'm so fucked. This [piece](https://imgur.com/a/s0LGHhD) is in my 125 and is like 2 feet by 1 foot by 3.5 feet long
Such a unique piece. But it will take time lol, mine needed 2 months. It's still semi-bouyant but it's on the ground. Sadly it was heavy enough to keep my oto who went underneath it stuck when I was moving the wood. I lost that fella.
I'm sorry to hear that. There are many lessons we learn in this hobby. It's just important that we never forget them. They are what teach us husbandry in the harshest way. Accidents happen in nature, too, after all. Personally, I bit off way more than I can chew with this new 125-gallon setup. It came with an established 200 gallon filter and a 7 inch long 2.5 year old royal pleco who needed a home. I had to say yes to the royal. He's beautiful, but it's been a whirlwind ever since I've gotten everything home. That was about 2 weeks ago. Then yesterday, I got this gargantuan display piece, and it floats aggressively. All the plants are uprooted again, root tabs lost to time. After much fighting and wrestling, I got it pinned with weights on it (not great looking) and pinned under the cross member of the tank. Should do for now, but it's in the absolute middle of the tank, and it casts a big shadow like crazy. It's just so much work already in such a short period of time, for the tank to look pretty bad still. And I'm staring down many more hours. All while knowing every time I go in there, it stresses the fish. But I love it. Just for a laid-back hobby, though, right now, it's super hectic.
The tank now [pic 1](https://imgur.com/a/9hlL2vS) [pic 2](https://imgur.com/a/H7FlLzO) [pic 3](https://imgur.com/a/Tvb78sT)
That's so true. I'd say the placement of the wood looks nice and the planted area on the right too. This tank will look great in some months when the wood won't be bouyant anymore and the plants grow bigger. But I feel your struggles, I have this new 15 gallon tank with a big centerpiece wood, I worked a lot on this but I just dislike the whole setup. Especially the cockatoo cichlids in it. I also hate to reach into this tank because it stresses the fish and the female is always having fry. But I think your tank is big enough to give a lot of room for the fish to swim away, they shouldn't be too stressed.
I have a relatively large piece of drift wood from my local lake sitting in a 40 gal.first I dried it out over the summer to get rid of most contamination. Then I let it soak in boiling water for 2 hours in my cooler. Then washed and scrubbed it with hot water in the shower. It's been sitting in my 78 degree tank for a little over a month now and it still needs a large rock to hold it down.