(salt)water proofing of driftwood

[j_wishbone]

Yello Guys

What would you recommend that I can use to seal or coat driftwood so i could use it as a decoration in my marine tank.


Ive thought of:
Fibreglass resin - too expensive
Sealants - but I believe they will detiriorate a lot quicker and my puffer will deifnitely chew em off the wood
Pond Sealer? - pros and cons?
Araldite? - is that even an option


Which one (or any other suggestions) would work best to this project?

Be keen to hear what everyones got to say

[j_wishbone]

anyone?

[Girly Gears]

Hmmm...do you think you could cure it like live rock? I wonder if sealing it would even be necessary...

[der_wille_zur_macht]

If I were trying to get a driftwood look in a marine tank, I'd probably go down one of two roads:

1) Use "real" driftwood and deal with the fact that it'll rot and need to be replaced after a few years.
2) Make fake driftwood out of foam and or cement, as is done with terrariums or fake rock for fish tanks, knowing that it probably won't look TOTALLY real, but it'll last forever.

[j_wishbone]

yeah thats good options....

is there any other reasons besides tanning that driftwood should not be used in a marine tank

Im trying to create a mangrove estuarine look btw

[j_wishbone]

is the only issue... salt rots the wood faster than freshwater?

[Girly Gears]

hmmm...maybe you can get a body shop to slap some leftover fiberglass resin on it...once the hardener is in it you can't exactly save it for later...

[phillyblunt]

wood piers down in SD have lasted longer than i've been alive. When cleaning a boat in the slip they dont want you to spray freshwater on it because it rots faster.

[j_wishbone]

ahhhh really


so the thread is sorta useless then hehe

just throw a well bleached driftwood in there and it should be good =)

thanks guys for helping me with my project

[noobtothereef]

salt decreases rot, just like it preserves meat. And how is fiberglass resin too expensive? Its like $10 for a quart of it, if you need more than that then your piece of driftwwood must be massive

[WI reefer55]

i would not bleach it. just soak or boil and run some carbon for tanning

[etomasko]

no bleach...

[serpentman]

My curiosity is peaked. Definitely post pics once you get it going.

[Mr.Biggs]

google Artificial Driftwood Decorations

[Wannabe29]

You should be fine with real driftwood. Do not bleach it. It will absorb the bleach and you'll have to flush it with freshwater and dechlorinator forever before you can put it in your tank. If anything, boil it, boil it and boil it some more.

If I were you, and you were worried about the tannins getting out in the water, I would put the piece in the tank of one my toilets (assuming it'll fit) and leave it there for at least a month. The tannin-filled water in the tank will be replaced with clean water with every flush. This will remove a large amount of the tannins from the wood and you probably won't notice anything in your display tank once you put it in.

Oh, you might also want to soak the wood in saltwater again after you leach the tannins out. Freshwater is less dense than saltwater. If it's not saturated with saltwater, it might want to float.

[j_wishbone]

dats awesome recommendations guys

definitely going to to do it


imma just need to find the driftwood that i want in....