Soaking of Bogwood

[krabbie]

How long do I have soak a bogwood before it will sink in the water? Any secret formula to make the process faster?

[|squee|]

Well I took one month for my driftwood to sink. Hot water and patience are the secrets. If you can boil your driftwood, or just pour boiling water over it frequently. Eventually it'll sink.

[Phillipians]

look around in the forum in the search engine. If i m not wrong, soaking it in hot water speeds up the process of it sinking. If you are impatient, tie it to a stone or something heavy to weigh it down for 3 weeks or so, a rough estimate for it. Hot water speeds up the process a little

[krabbie]

Wow!!! 1 month ??? ok .. thanks....

[kniveswood]

I weigh mine down with those flexible metal strip thing. Take up less space than a stone/rock of a similar weight, but some people may not like the idea of having any form of metal in the water. =)

[krabbie]

I weigh mine down with those flexible metal strip thing. Take up less space than a stone/rock of a similar weight, but some people may not like the idea of having any form of metal in the water. =)

Those that you get when you buy potted plants ? They can weight down the wood meh?

[kniveswood]

Those that you get when you buy potted plants ? They can weight down the wood meh?

I'm talk about those that look something like this:


Sure can weigh down wood, quite heavy for its size.

[Justikanz]

Please note that this is lead. It is a very dense metal and thus can weigh the wood down. But it is also poisonous to inverts (shrimps, snails) and some plants if there is too much in the water, so remove the metal once the wood sinks.

Best is still to pre-soak the wood. It will also reduce the level of tannic acid leaching out later and turning the water too brownish...

[kniveswood]

Please note that this is lead. It is a very dense metal and thus can weigh the wood down. But it is also poisonous to inverts (shrimps, snails) and some plants if there is too much in the water, so remove the metal once the wood sinks.

Best is still to pre-soak the wood. It will also reduce the level of tannic acid leaching out later and turning the water too brownish...

Thanks for the warning!

But for the benefit of anyone who really want to risk it like I did, I left it in the tank for 1mth+, then took it out when wood sinks on its own. Had some yamatos in the tank that time.

[Justikanz]

It can be done... just remember to remove the lead pieces after it sinks. Don't leave it in permanently. It takes quite a long time for the lead to accumulate in the water but it can. Cheers...

[anakin]

How long do I have soak a bogwood before it will sink in the water? Any secret formula to make the process faster?

Like what the rest said, boil your dw. As for how long you need to boil it before it can sink on its own accord, it really depends on the size. a small 'branchy' dw can sink after 2-3 boiling, but a big one needs to be weighed down in the tank for 3 to 4 weeks.

Anyway, it's always good to boil a new dw even if it can sink - can sterilize it and kill any contaminants - do note that we also give the dw a hard scrubbing right after boiling - can help remove any loose bark or wooden chips - you'd be surprised at the effect of that .

And Justikanz is right, this boiling will encourage leaching of tannin but the dw will still leach a long time after boiling too.

So good luck and enjoying making the wood broth!

[soulfinder78]

since we r talking abt wood here may i ask how to have wood in the plant yet prevent water for turning yellowish? i had soak my wood for a month but still the water turn yellow anyway i can do to get rid of the yellow water???

[Justikanz]

Use activated carbon. But carbon will also remove the dissolved fertilizers. And dun leave the carbon in the water for too long, stuff will be released back into the water after saturation.

Cheers

[soulfinder78]

oh thanks but can quote me a time frame? say 1 day or 2 days?

[|squee|]

Use it till the yellow colour goes away.