# How to hold driftwood down?



## Qbert23 (Mar 11, 2012)

How do you guys hold your driftwood down until it becomes waterlogged while still keeping it in your tank?
Thanks


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## Sierra255 (Sep 13, 2007)

I've never had that issue, but I have heard of others attaching the driftwood to some slate that is heavy enough to keep the wood under water, then burying the slate in the substrate until it's hidden. I bet you could do that opposite, too, use a heavy enough rock to rest on top of the wood to hold it down. The most common method is to boil the wood until it becomes waterlogged, but you can't very well do that with it in the tank.


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Holding Driftwood Down*



Qbert23 said:


> How do you guys hold your driftwood down until it becomes waterlogged while still keeping it in your tank?
> Thanks


Hello Q...

I've done it a couple of ways. Rocks arranged on top of the piece works well. I've also used twine and suction cups used to attach heaters to the glass. Just use the twine to secure the suction cups to the driftwood and attach the cups to the bottom of the tank. Then arrange gravel and other decor around the driftwood to cover the twine.

B


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Drill it to a piece of slate with a stainless steel screw. Stick that beneath the substrate. Permanent fix.


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## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

For a temp fix just toss a large rock or two on it.


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## Sugardaddy1979 (Jan 16, 2012)

somewhatshocked said:


> Drill it to a piece of slate with a stainless steel screw. Stick that beneath the substrate. Permanent fix.


This is what I did and now I never have to worry about it shifting. Slate is completely out of sight down in the sand.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

A big rock or two might work, if the driftwood is just the right shape, but I worry about what will happen when the rock shifts. It may fall against the sides or bottom of the tank with enough force to crack the glass. 

You can put gravel into one of those long thin media bags and drape it over the wood. It might take several such bags. It is much harder for them to fall off (the wood has to turn upside down), and if that does happen there is almost no chance of cracking the glass.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

i waited for one piece to get water logged in a bucket, and then put it in my tank, well it started to float...wtf right? so attached a plant to it, and put a couple rocks on it to hold it down hehe, wood will not outsmart me!


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I've done the slate method previously, I believe I used a nylon screw/bolt to attach the slate to the wood. probably held in with silicone, but it was quite a while ago, so I'm not certain.

Aside from holding the wood down, it's also useful to get the wood into a position other then just laying it in the tank (like a "T", "Y", or "7" type shape), and to help anchor it so it doesn't move easily.


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## Al Slick (Jan 22, 2012)

I recently used some 1/8" acrylic sheet to make a 3D "T" shaped piece that was anchored under the substrate and I used one black zip tie to tie it to the driftwood. After a couple months I cut the tie and the wood was totally waterlogged. You can check out the link in my sig for some pictures of it.


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## Al Slick (Jan 22, 2012)

The last post, #15 on the first page, and the first post, #16 on the second page show exactly what I'm talking about. I also used these pieces to retain my substrates and it has worked wonderfully.


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## Speedoking (Jul 4, 2011)

If the wood is small enough you can boil it


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## bradlgt21 (Mar 24, 2010)

I always thought boiling it just removed Tannins and killed off any germs or parasites. I would think the easiest way is silicone it to a rock. Once the silicone dries drop it in. Then if you decide you want to move something you can always peel the silicone off cleanly and the wood should be waterlogged.

I am going to start attaching Anubius and such to driftwood with Silicone. I went with peoples advice and tied the plants with black thread in the past. Went to feed my fish and saw the pleco try to run for cover like he always does but was stuck in the string. Had it wrapped around one of his fins so bad it was cutting into the bone, I was able to eventually cut away all the string after putting him in a shallow tuperware container. He survived the wound and all his fin grew back and you can't even tell now but I have been slowly trying to remove the string in my tank when I see it.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Super glue (gel type) works better than silicone. You cannot keep the plants dry long enough for the silicone to set up. Super glue sets up really fast, and is aquarium safe.


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