*above: Large manzanita driftwood pieces interweaved with crypts? Check out the Java Moss lattice work in the back of the tank! It's like a moss carpet wall hanging. Interesting eh?
A month or two ago I tried to "cure" my own driftwood with some success. I found 4 pieces of driftwood from the beach, soaked them, boiled them in salt water (kill bacteria), soaked them in boiling hot water, changing water daily until the pieces sunk. 2 of the small pieces sunk, but the 1 of the larger pieces never did so I gave up after about 2 weeks. The other piece was stylin' but it had a rotting core which can't be used for aquascaping because it just rots in the tank and kills your fish/plants.
Today whilst visiting one of my favorite aquarium stores, I decided to buy 2 pieces of sandblasted driftwood from the store. The first piece is about 20 cm (medium size) and has a nice shape to it. It's made of MALAYSIAN WOOD and created by GeoSystem ($13).
The second is a 60 cm long, thin MANZANITA WOOD branch with very unique patterns ($8).
I will be soaking them for the next few days - weeks to get the tannins (brown coloring) out after a good scrubbing, hopefully they will sink properly and add some character to my tank?! I might consider weighing them down with a stone if I have to. I'll keep you updated!
--edit
As expected, the woods turned my tank water a nice tannin brown color. I actually rather like it. The water is still crystal clear, just tinted in a more natural way so it isn't glaringly white & pristine anymore. The effect is wonderful. My shrimp seem especially attached to the wood...
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