Puget Sound Driftwood

[Emily M]

Hi all! Have a question. Was out at the beach (salt water) and found this AMAZING piece of driftwood. I’m a freshest tank gal, but was hoping I could use this piece sometime. Can I soak it? Months? What are your thoughts! 

[Patrick_G]

I’ve also collected some nice drift wood. My gut says to just give it a light pressure wash and soak for a day or two. I’m going to use it for a new tank so I’ll have time to test parameters before adding fish. 
 

Is yours from Puget Sound? 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Patrick_G

[Frank]

Awesome piece!

Do you have a TDS meter?

I would guess that a "before and after", couple day soak, pair of readings would give you your answer.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Frank

[Patrick_G]

Great advice @Frank

Edited April 4, 2021 by Patrick_G

[Emily M]

20 minutes ago, Patrick_G said:

I’ve also collected some nice drift wood. My gut says to just give it a light pressure wash and soak for a day or two. I’m going to use it for a new tank so I’ll have time to test parameters before adding fish. 
 

Is yours from Puget Sound? 

Yes, from Puget Sound. I’m planning on setting up a big tank in a few months, so I cannot wait to use it!

[Patrick_G]

13 minutes ago, Emily M said:

Yes, from Puget Sound. I’m planning on setting up a big tank in a few months, so I cannot wait to use it!

Great, I’ll be the guinea pig then. I’ll be setting up my 75 today or early next week. I’ll post updates. 

[Emily M]

1 hour ago, Patrick_G said:

Great, I’ll be the guinea pig then. I’ll be setting up my 75 today or early next week. I’ll post updates. 

Amazing! I can’t wait to see! 

[Eddie Dingle]

That is a beautiful chunk of wood, any idea on what type of wood it is? I'd love to see a picture or two from different angles.

[PlaneFishGuy]

@Emily M @Patrick_G Keep us posted on progress. I walked past a few really nice pieces of freshwater wood on a hike here in North Alabama (which is just a pretty as the Puget Sound if you squint really hard 🙂). I didn't pick them up because I really had no idea how to handle a piece of "wild" driftwood for a tank.  

[Emily M]

Will do! I got some smaller pieces to play around with in my other tanks too!!

[Emily M]

1 hour ago, Emily M said:

Will do! I got some smaller pieces to play around with in my other tanks too!!

I’m such a nerd! I gasped when I saw it, and then carried it home immediately 😂

[Emily M]

So I went a little overboard with the driftwood collecting, got more pieces, large and small. I’ll keep everyone posted on how it’s doing. Am planning on soaking for a few weeks.

[Patrick_G]

I’m about 10 days in with my foraged Puget Sound driftwood. I’ve seen a a few blobs of thick whiteish biofilm, but that seems to be clearing up. There’s some algae starting, but nothing major. My water parameters are similar to my other tanks so I’m pretty happy so far and the look is great. 

[Emily M]

On 4/18/2021 at 5:36 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’m about 10 days in with my foraged Puget Sound driftwood. I’ve seen a a few blobs of thick whiteish biofilm, but that seems to be clearing up. There’s some algae starting, but nothing major. My water parameters are similar to my other tanks so I’m pretty happy so far and the look is great. 

That looks amazing!!! Nice work. What are you stocking in there??

[Emily M]

I’m just soaking my haul of wood right now, the tannins that remain in the wood, even after floating in the Sound are amazing!

[Streetwise]

I love this! Enjoy the tannins.

[Patrick_G]

27 minutes ago, Emily M said:

That looks amazing!!! Nice work. What are you stocking in there??

Thanks 

I have some cherry barbs and two guppies in there for now. I’m not sure what I’ll be adding. There’s a lot of possibilities! 

[Emily M]

8 hours ago, Patrick_G said:

Thanks 

I have some cherry barbs and two guppies in there for now. I’m not sure what I’ll be adding. There’s a lot of possibilities! 

Lovely! Keep us posted!