# How to sink drift wood.



## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

I screwed mine to a big piece of slate. Also after a few weeks soak they will sink. I don't know if boiling speeds that up or not.


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## Jorgens (Dec 20, 2008)

How did you screw into the slate??


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

There's a couple of ways to make driftwood sink.

1. Boil the wood to drive out the air. Then dunk it into tub with cool/cold water. Boil doesn't simply mean putting it in hot water btw...
2. Put it in a small tubberware, whatever fits, and put a large stone on top and fill it up with water so the wood is completely submersed. A large CLEAN stone, don't want to contaiminate your wood while your at it.

If you choose 2, it'll take awhile, my advice if you want it in there and not wait the wait is to take some string and tie it to a heavy rock or weight of some sort. If you use a metal weight, just bag it a few times and put it in there. Just make sure its air tight.

The time it takes to sink the driftwood with method two will vary greatly.


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## Jorgens (Dec 20, 2008)

I'd love to boil it. But I don't think I can fit it in anything to boil. How long should one boil it for?


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## BlueLagoon (Jan 2, 2009)

Jorgens said:


> How did you screw into the slate??


You drill a hole into the slate, them screw through the bottom into the wood. Use a good grade stainless steel screw. Then cap it with a little silicone.

You can also try siliconing it to the slate. Might work for smaller pieces.

Some wood just wont sink, no matter how long it sat in water.

Boiling the wood helps soak out the tannins that can turn your tank water into a dark tea.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

Oh yeah, just extra note. Some wood are naturally bouyant and the methods that I said above will work for some driftwoods, but there will still be some that'll take forever. Only way to know is to try. Can be fast or takes weeks or months to get it to sink.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

Jorgens said:


> I'd love to boil it. But I don't think I can fit it in anything to boil. How long should one boil it for?


I guess try method #2 and see how long it takes. If you're lucky, it'll only take a few days. Make sure it's completely submersed.


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## Jorgens (Dec 20, 2008)

Thanks guys.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Running it through the dishwasher on the "sanitize" cycle with no chemicals can help sometimes, too.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

Jorgens said:


> Thanks guys.










man, took me 4 months to sink mine.

We'll be cheering for you









I just got all these new smilies I just have to use.


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## Haagenize (Sep 30, 2008)

Natty said:


> man, took me 4 months to sink mine.
> 
> We'll be cheering for you
> 
> ...


4 months? wow that's tough


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## hokuryu (Jan 6, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> Running it through the dishwasher on the "sanitize" cycle with no chemicals can help sometimes, too.


Wow - that's a great idea. I was wondering how I was going to sanitize some wood from Lake Superior, and envisioned having to dunk each end in a large stockpot for the 30 minute boil. You don't have any worries about residual soap, etc.?


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

Haagenize said:


> 4 months? wow that's tough


Yeah, but it wasn't that tough cause I tied it down in the tank and 4 months was a bit of an exaggeration. I just had it tied down in there for 4 months, completely forgetting that it was tied down, so it might have already stop floating a month or two before.

It annoyed me the first month I had it tied down but afterwards, I totally forgot about it in my tank.

I couldn't boil it either, that thing was HUGE


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## smannell (Jan 10, 2009)

*Floor Tile Work as Well*

If you can't find any slate, Home Depot sells tons of different size and shapes of kitchen and bathroom floor tiles. All you need is a drill, a couple of wood screws, and a masonry bit that is slightly bigger than the screws. It helps to irrigate the bit with water as you are drilling the hole to keep the bit cool. Once you have a piece of tile attached, you can push it down into the substrate as well as place rocks on top of it. This method also allows you to orient the wood any direction you like; just cut a flat spot with a saw to give you a good surface to anchor to the tile.


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## Jorgens (Dec 20, 2008)

I like the dish washer idea. I'm not sure if it will fit in there either tho. They are very large pieces. I think I'm going to try to drill and screw. It seems like the best option at this point.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Blue Lagoon answered how I attached it to the slate, got the slate from pet shop


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