# Adding driftwood to an established tank



## bluecheese (May 22, 2009)

Hi all. I want to add a new piece of driftwood to a tank that has been running for about 2 years. Is there anything special I have to do to the driftwood before placing it in my tank? I'm not going to have to re-scape anything, as I currently have the room in the tank to place the driftwood. Thanks.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Not knowing where you got the wood from I can't say. I purchased several pieces from Angelsplus that were tank safe and simply placed them in the tanks I wanted to add them too. If you know it to be clean you should be good to go.


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## jmontee (Mar 20, 2009)

My advice is to boil it for a couple of hours if you have a big enough pot to put it in. This will kill any nasties that might be on/in it. Then you can soak it in a bucket of clean dechlorinated water for a few days. At this stage I would do a full water change every day until you see that the tanins are gone.

This of course is if you don't want any of the tannins in the water. You can for go the soaking and water changes if you want to have the tannins in there. Some do this to recreate the "black water" feel of some tanks, especially amazon biotopes.


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## bluecheese (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for the quick answers guys. I plan on buying the wood from my local fish store. And yes, I want the tannins for that Black Water look. So boiling the wood? I may have to wait until the wife is at work or something before I use the cooking pots to boil wood in.


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## jmontee (Mar 20, 2009)

I would still boil it at least for an hour. This will also help it sink right from the start. Then soak it in dechlorinated water till it cools down and then into the tank. 

Don't forget to remove any little scraps and dirt, if it has any, from the surface with a wire brush or something. I don't like to leave splinter like stuff on my DW. Anyway that's just my preference.


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## Postal Penguin (Mar 30, 2009)

If you want the blackwater look, just boil it for 10-15 minutes, give it a good scrub and drop it in the tank. If the driftwood is sitting on the display shelf(not in a tank) then just give it a good rinse and you'll be good to go.


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## bluecheese (May 22, 2009)

I believe that the driftwood is not in any tanks at my lfs. They sell them out of a cardboard box. I may still boil it regardless.


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