what should i do to make my driftwood sink?

Question

i bought 4 pieces of driftwood from a pet store for my 50 gallon tank. they were piled up in a corner of the pet store and were kept dry.
when i got home i decided to immerse them in water before actually put them in the tank. they've been there for two days now but the still tend to float...
is there something i should do to make them absorb more water so that they'd sink or did i buy the wrong kind of wood?

Answer 1

You can always use aquarium sealant (silicone) to glue them to a peice of rock. You can then hide the rock in the gravel or if it's nice looking allow it to show.

MM

Answer 2

Some driftwood will sink if you just soak it in water for a few days. Some won't. It helps if you weight the driftwood while soaking it, so none of it is exposed to air. Another trick is to boil the driftwood. Some people hear this and think that driftwood and rocks and so on need to be sterilized for aquarium use. In general, they don't, especially if they are dry when you get them. The reason for boiling wood is that it forces air out from the inside of the wood, which makes it sink more readily (once it cools off). So, if you can find a pot (or a big metal can or similar vessel) big enough to immerse your driftwood in water and heat it, it's worth a try. If you can't get it to sink by one of these methods, you can always attach weight to the driftwood to anchor it. Either tie rocks to the driftwood, attach them by other means (for example, with marine epoxy or pond sealant foam), or put rocks on top of the wood until it sinks. Some wood that will not float at first will, after long submersion (weeks, months, or years) become waterlogged enough that it will stay on the bottom on its own.

Answer 3

Some pieces of driftwood will eventually sink. For the ones that don't buy a piece of slate that's heavy enough to sink the driftwood and drill a hole on the bottom and put a screw on it.
Tha's how most driftwood with a base is sold at the petstore.Check every month or so to see if the wood will sink without the base.

Answer 4

I have used fishing line and a larger rock hidden under the gravel, or even when I had undergravel filters, simply threaded the line thru that to hold down items that liked to float. In a pinch, there are some non toxic epoxys out there, that you can use to attach weights to the bottom, or as a last resort, find the bottom section of your wood, ream out a trough, and fill with cement. Let that cure for at least 48 hours before putting into the tank.
Good luck.

Answer 5

Keep them immersed in the water in a separate container than your tank...it will take some time to get them completely water logged...One thing you can do is put something heavy on top of them, so that each piece is completely under water...this will let the water penetrate into the wood and soak it in. I've done this for many pieces of driftwood...it just takes patience.

Answer 6

you might have bought the wrong kind of wood, you might have bought the kind intended for reptiles and crickets. what you wanna do is go back to that fish store and ask if its drift wood intended for fish tanks, if the answer is yes, do some of the following
1-boil it a little, not a lot so it doesnt break
2-glue it with some fish tank glue, this is dangerous though and it is adviced to let a expert do it
3-put it in salt or soak it for a week
4-just keep hitting it till it sinks lol

Answer 7

you didn't get the wrong wood. all wood will eventually sink. with my tanks, i always had to submerse wood for around 10-14 days believe it or not. like a sponge, wood absorbs water, just at a much slower pace. what i did was decorate the bottom of my tanks with rocks, plants & wood. i'd place a heavy rock on the wood to weigh it down,still trying to keep a natural looking setting. try that, after 2 weeks or so, or next time u clean the tank, take the heavy rocks off and see if the wood will stay down on its own. then u got more decorating options.

Answer 8

Try making a saline soultion and putting the wood in that. You'll want to resoak it in fresh water before you put it in a freshwater tank. But I do know that salt water is more dense than normal water, and also absorbs more quickly than normal water.

Answer 9

Boiling often helps, but just soak them for days. They will sink.

Answer 10

i dont know ? i have had a piece in my frog tank in the water section, for a couple months and it still hasnt sank so good luck!