Black slime in water while soaking wood

[Nanci B]

Hi everyone,

I am currently soaking a large piece of driftwood that I needed a 30 gallon trash can to place it in. I checked on it this past weekend and above the waterline there was a black slime. Smelled terrible. As I pulled out piece after piece, they were slimy. There were pieces of it floating in the water. Looked like green hair algae floating. 
 

is it some type of mold? And not the good time. 
 

Thoughts?

 

TIA 

[Pencapchew95]

Hard to say without pictures . Maybe treat the wood with some super hot water if you can’t boil it . Put it in the tub with super super hot water .  ( I don’t know what I’m talking about ) 

[nabokovfan87]

Take a good sturdy brush and try to scrub off all of the bark / external layer as best you can.  Rinse everything really well and then report back on if you have any more floaties.

[Nanci B]

Ok will do in next few days. Will. Check on what wood looks like tomorrow. I think I’m about to get a friendlier acquaintance with bleach in all things aquarium sanitizing. 😉

[Guppysnail]

Grocery store hydrogen peroxide is MUCH SAFER than bleach and just as affective for disinfecting/ sanitizing and  for aquarium use and leaves no harmful residue as it breaks down to water and oxygen. The black slime is actually kind of normal when soaking some wood and nothing to worry over. Rinse it off and wipe hit it with peroxide and fill with clean water. It is not going to hurt the wood. 

[DaveO]

Bleach is great. For doing laundry.

[Nanci B]

@DaveO I don’t even use bleach for laundry! Have none in the house. 🫤

@Guppysnail Thanks for clarifying that. I haven’t soaked wood before, only boiled it. I usually use Malaysian driftwood which is so heavy I’ve never done this before.  🤩
 

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

For large pieces of wood that cannot be boiled, you can use aquarium salt in the water that they are soaking in to kill harmful organisms.

[DaveO]

On 9/8/2022 at 8:11 AM, Nanci B said:

@DaveO I don’t even use bleach for laundry! Have none in the house. 🫤

@Guppysnail Thanks for clarifying that. I haven’t soaked wood before, only boiled it. I usually use Malaysian driftwood which is so heavy I’ve never done this before.  🤩
 

 

Please don't take offense to my comment. That was merely a poor attempt at humor. As far as soaking a large piece of wood goes you are on the right track. I change the water every few days until it stays clear. This may take a couple weeks. Each time I remove the wood I will hose it off with a high pressure nozzle. Spray the container also. That will remove most debris and slimy gunk. I find no need for any scrubbing but do make sure all bark is manually removed. After two or three weeks it is ready for the tank.

[Nanci B]

@DaveOno offense taken!