# Cleaning driftwood



## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

You can always take the wood out and give it a good scrub with a stiff brush.

However, I have the feeling you want to clean the wood _without_ removing it from the aquarium!  

To do that, you'll need to beat back the algae. Good CO2 levels of 30ppm or higher and a stable fertilizing regime are going to be your best bet to clean off the wood sans elbow grease.

What are your water parameters, Quincymom?

Mike


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## Quincymom (May 8, 2005)

Momotaro said:


> You can always take the wood out and give it a good scrub with a stiff brush.
> 
> However, I have the feeling you want to clean the wood _without_ removing it from the aquarium!
> 
> ...


A stiff brush woud be fine with me. My water is okay, if I can remember from this am the gh is 6 , kh is 4.5, pH is 6.8, and the CO2 I have is Excel and a Turbo CO2 Biosystem made by Red Sea. No algae on the plants, only a little on glass, just fuzzy driftwood. Oh, on another post I found out to remove the bio chem zorb from the filter, which I have, but now after 3 days the tank stinks, I can really smell it when I stand over the tank. Will that odor go away?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Water changes will reduce any odor for the most part.
I use bleach for rocks and wood, equipment cleaning etc, add dechlor after a good rinse and then a bit to the tank.

Unless the wood is really and truly huge, removing it every so often is not a bad idea. H2O2 can be used, peroxide........microwave, drying the wood out, fire even for that charred look Do not worry, the wood is wet.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

I have used peroxide before.

I got the wood after it had been in someone else's aquarium and been allowed to dry out for quite some time. The wood was very dry, so I was afraid to bleach it. I thought the bleach would really soak deeply into the wood, making dechlorinating tough. I soaked the wood well with peroxide and scrubbed with a stiff brush, which seemed to work pretty well.

Mike


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## Bert H (Dec 15, 2003)

You could also boil it. If too big to fit in your pot, just dip the algae infested areas into the water. I actually did that once and when I put the wood back in the tank, all the herbivores (ottos, shrimp) went to town on the 'cooked algae.'


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## Quincymom (May 8, 2005)

plantbrain said:


> Water changes will reduce any odor for the most part.
> I use bleach for rocks and wood, equipment cleaning etc, add dechlor after a good rinse and then a bit to the tank.
> 
> Unless the wood is really and truly huge, removing it every so often is not a bad idea. H2O2 can be used, peroxide........microwave, drying the wood out, fire even for that charred look Do not worry, the wood is wet.
> ...


Oh cool--I love Clorox! I was afraid to do it, now I will go ahead and dip it, I hate scrubbing
Thanks-


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