Aquatic plants such as feather dusters and sea anemones are commonly used as decorative ornaments in aquariums. These plants when used as decorations need to be anchored at a specific place for them not to move or slide around. A good decorative ornament that one may consider using is driftwood. Unlike sea plants, driftwood need not be anchored, as they will always sink at the bottom of the tank. Drift comes in interesting shapes sizes. When used, they may serve as caves for the fish and may add that distinct flare to your fish tank.
Selecting the perfect piece. You need to start by looking for a piece of driftwood that you will be working on. This step is one of the most exciting one as people find it really appealing to work on the piece of wood, which they themselves have found. Remember to take it slowly as you can’t just use any kind of driftwood that you scavenge. This is because you do not want to contaminate the water in your fish tank causing your fish to die. If you don’t have much knowledge about driftwood, then it pays to do a little research and gain knowledge about it before jumping right into putting it inside your aquarium. A quick tip, which you can follow when selecting the perfect piece, is to look for the one which looks aged or that which appears distressed and have been exposed outside for a long time. These can be found in the water or in the woods and you’d like to keep an eye on the uniqueness of its form.
Prepare the driftwood. Clean off the piece of wood by washing it. When clean, you’d like to remove excessive bark by stripping it off along with other debris that comes with the piece of wood. You will also have to remove excess branches. Cleaning will make sure that all these won’t flake off inside the fish tank.
Treat the driftwood. Get a container big enough for your wood to fit in. Prepare a bleach and hot water solution. Follow a one is to ten ratio for this – one part bleach, ten parts water. Soak the piece of wood into the solution and make sure that it is fully covered. Allow the driftwood to sit in this solution for at least twelve hours. Once done, you will then have to throw the water and prepare another solution following the same ration. Soak the wood again in the new solution and allow it to sit for another twelve hours. The next step to take the wood and soak the driftwood in a dechlorinator solution for another two hours. From here, proceed to moving the wood into a container with hot water. Leave it there for yet another twelve hours. The final task is to allow the driftwood to completely dry. This last task may take several days depending on the climate or the weather. Either way, it is important for the driftwood to completely dry off.
Check and maintain the driftwood. It is suggested for you to do a regular check on the color and the ph of your aquarium water. Should you see any discoloration, you can simply treat this by soaking the driftwood again in water until you don’t see any further signs of changes when it comes to the color of the water.
Engaging in a do-it-yourself driftwood project for your aquarium is something that is fun and at the same time very practical. It is very inexpensive means of decorating your aquarium and poses to be a good way for you to show off your driftwood work of art, giving you that sense of pride and accomplishment.