Getting bogwood to sink

[andy]

I have a nice long piece of bogwood that i found in the shed which i'd like to use in my aquarium. trouble is, it floats.

I don't have any rocks to weigh it down with so need to know if there's any ways of getting it to sink.

Currently it's wedged under the bracing bars in the tank in a hope that it will get waterlogged. I was wondering if this would be speeded up by drilling lots of small holes along the length.

Any suggestions welcome.

Andy

 

[Mick.Dk]

Hi Andy
Most of the time, wood will soak up........eventually!
But it can take untolerably long time. I often mount plastic-suction-cups on places of the wood, that will not be showing at the final result, to attach on glass surfaces of the tank. If possible on the parts going under the substate, atached to the very basis.
works verywell for me.
Mick.

 

[Willard]

Hi Andy
I was scratching my head about this too. After soaking for a few weeks in a tub I tried weighing mine down with a tight filled with sand. It was a stupid idea that ended with an eruption of soil all over the tank.
Then I read on here about using slate, so I got a piece from a garden centre for a few quid and drilled the wood to that. The slate is easily hidden under the substrate & keeps the wood firmly in place.

 

[sa80mark]

I always use hot water it seems to be drawn into the wood much faster and for large pieces I sock them in the bath when the misses is out

 

[killi69]

Put the wood in a pan as large as you can find and put something heavy on it to keep as much of it under water as possible. I then boil it on a low heat for a whole day, topping up the water with a kettle as it evaporates. Wood small enough to be totally submerged will usually sink after boiling like this for a whole day (+evening sometimes). For larger pieces it will take longer as you need to swap both ends around and for larger pieces I combine this method with using a kitchen bin (with brick to keep wood down) to soak the wood while I am out and unable to boil. It might still take a few days instead of weeks doing it this way.

Apart from speeding up the process, boiling also helps get rid of tannins and prevents wood from growing white mouldy stuff in the first couple of weeks of submersion.

 

[Henry]

+1 on the boiling.

 

[andy]

Unfortunately, the length of bogwood is at least 3 feet long. I could soak it in the bath in very hot water for the day if needed but i will also try drilling lots of small holes in it to get the water to soak in better

 

[logi-cat]

for me, boil, then soak into cold water, then boil again and then soak into cold water again. do it a few times and it will sink.