# Microwaving driftwood???



## anstey (Oct 9, 2003)

:nod: I went to the lfs and was talking to the owner who is a friend of mine and he told me that if you want to cure driftwood you should microwave it.. But only if its smaller pieces though. Have any of you guys done this??? I tried it and it seemed to work. I don't know how you can tell if it works or not......
Ryan


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

ummm thats a weird idea. i wonder how someone would think of that.... heh...

well if it worked then it worked, but i wouldn't try that personally.
and if i did, i would let it soak in some water for at least over night before putting it into my tank.

definitly a wierd weird idea.


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## Black-Phoenix (Oct 21, 2003)

hmmm...never thought of that ill give it a worle...thanks for the idea!


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## boxer (Sep 11, 2003)

dunno why but i'll try to reason with it. i'm guessing you put the driftwood in the microwave while it is still wet because it would be useless to throw in a dry wood in a microwave. no reaction would occur because the microwave heats only liquids. the microwave vibrates the water in the wood and causes the water inside the wood to heat up and act if it is boiling from within. i dunno how this will do anything with density to sink the wood but im guessing the heating of the water molecules will vibrate and create more space and the gas releasing will cause something? it will open up space inside for more water to enter and sink the wood in the end? or i am just so way off..


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## akio525 (Sep 4, 2003)

One of the reasons for soaking driftwood is to get rid of some of the crap in it that discolors the water. A microwave might help prep driftwood in some ways but not all.


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## Black-Phoenix (Oct 21, 2003)

I was thinking that it may be nuked so it kills the bacteria and garbage that could be hitchhikeing on the wood......yeah I dobt it will help it sink...if any thing it will float better haveing been dryed out.


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## anstey (Oct 9, 2003)

Black-Phoenix said:


> I was thinking that it may be nuked so it kills the bacteria and garbage that could be hitchhikeing on the wood......yeah I dobt it will help it sink...if any thing it will float better haveing been dryed out.











Thats why I did it to get rid of the crap that may be hitching a ride on the wood..
Ryan


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

so more than one person has heard about this?

i sill think it's weird.

what exactly does curing driftwood do?


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## anstey (Oct 9, 2003)

I'm not sure if curing the driftwood is the correct term or not but what I am talking about is getting rid of all the harmful things in the wood by heating it up... When I done it liquid started to ooze out of the wood and it sizzled alot.. I guess its the same as boiling it only when you microwave it it dosn't make it sink.. I'm not sure.. I done it and I put the wood in my tank and my fish are still fine and that was about a month ago..
Ryan


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

what about store bought driftwood? your not talkin about that are you?


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## anstey (Oct 9, 2003)

No No I'm talking about driftwood that you find yourself. sorry about not clearifying(sp) that...
Ryan


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## str8up (Sep 20, 2003)

I put our cutting boards that we cut meat and chicken on in the microwave...always have.... just to make sure it kills everything... for 45 seconds...does the trick on a 12x 12


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## evermore (Oct 7, 2003)

try boiling it kill two birds with one stone


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

sh*t throw it in your oven at 450 degress!


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## Void (Aug 24, 2003)

if it works ill take the driftwood im gettin to work and throw it in our deli microwave heh


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## JeFFLo (Aug 29, 2003)

throw it in the oven. you can fit them big ass pieces in the oven! and it gets hotter than the microwave.


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## akio525 (Sep 4, 2003)

If you only microwave or roast the driftwood youre going to end up with piss yellow water .


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## JeFFLo (Aug 29, 2003)

i put two pieces of driftwood in the oven for 10 mins i set the temp at 400 F didnt work =(


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## JeFFLo (Aug 29, 2003)

all it did was dry up the wood. i think it would work if you set the wood in a pan with water in it


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## anstey (Oct 9, 2003)

How did you know if it didn't work??? It's not suppose to make the wood sink its just suppose to kill all the bacteria and stuff that may be present on the wood from being outside and in all the eliments..
Ryan


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## JeFFLo (Aug 29, 2003)

thought it was suppose to make the wood sink. nm then


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## boxer (Sep 11, 2003)

lol jefflo, i'm suprised you didn't catch your house on fire


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

cool someone tried my oven idea! I bet it killed the bacteria though.


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## str8up (Sep 20, 2003)

If you want it to sink...you'll have to do a little more work bud...
I think we misunderstood your question...Appologies..
Heating it up in the stove...or nuking it in the mic will only kill the bacteria..
If you want it to sink...youll have to get a flat plate made of rock... drill a hole in it and screw it to the bottom of your wood...
I know of no other way to make floating wood sink....







Let's see the finished product with some pics bud!!!
Later...Str8


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## marko78 (Sep 10, 2003)

Nuking it will kill the bacteria but your tank water might still turn yellow, so i would nuke it and the let it soak


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