How to Get Driftwood to Sink { & Keep It Sunk}

Do you want to add driftwood to your fish tank and want to know how to get driftwood to sink?

Do you want to know how you can do that with no stress?

Below are simple ways to get your driftwood to sink in your aquarium.

How to Get Driftwood to Sink

To get driftwood to sink you have to wait for it to get saturated with water. You can boil the driftwood to speed up the process of saturation. You can also suspend a weight on it to keep it in water till it gets saturated.

Why is My Driftwood Not Sinking?

You might see other aquariums with sinking driftwood, whereas you are nowhere near sinking your driftwood. You have to understand the mechanism behind sinking and floating driftwoods. Your driftwood is not sinking because of the air in it.

The air pressure in the driftwood keeps it from sinking and floating on the surface of your water. You will have to force out the air before your driftwood can sink. If you do not force out the air, your driftwood might never sink.

You will have to allow the driftwood to absorb water till it gets saturated before it will sink. Saturating driftwood can take a while, so you might need to speed up the process. You can force the driftwood into the water by suspending a weight on it.

You can tie a heavy substance around the wood to submerge it in the water. You might also need to drill air in the wood to allow water to get in it at a faster rate. You can also boil the wood to drive out the air.

Boiling the water makes the air hot and lighter, making it denser than the water. Once the air becomes light, it leaves the wood and goes out of the water. With the air out of the driftwood, water seeps into it and keeps it saturated.

You have to ensure that the driftwood is fully submerged when boiling the water. If the air does not leave the wood, your driftwood might never sink. The only factor keeping your driftwood from sinking is the amount of air in it.

If you can take necessary actions, your driftwood will sink faster than you ever thought, even with less stress.

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Will Boiling Driftwood Make it Sink?

Boiling your driftwood is one of the fastest ways to get your driftwood to sink. If you do not boil your driftwood, it will still sink but will only do that at a slower rate. Your driftwood needs to be saturated before it can sink into your aquarium.

Boiling the driftwood will speed up the saturation process and allow your driftwood to sink as soon as it can. There is air in your driftwood; this air prevents the wood from sinking. You will need to get the air out of the wood before properly sinking in the water.

Boiling the driftwood will make the air in the water increase the air temperature in it. When the air gets heated, it becomes lighter than the water. It escapes the wood, out of the water, and into the atmosphere.

When the air leaves the driftwood, the water starts to fill the pores in it. You can fully submerge the wood in the boiling water to ensure the efficient saturation of the driftwood. You can also make pores in the driftwood to ensure easier water penetration.

When water fills the driftwood, it will start to sink to the bottom of the water. There are other ways you can sink your driftwood in the water. You can suspend it in the normal water and wait for it to get saturated, but it will take a while.

Boiling your water will certainly help sink your driftwood within a shorter period. If you do not boil your driftwood, it will still sink, but it will do that at a slower rate. Boiling will only make it faster, which I would recommend to save you time and stress.

How Do You Hold Driftwood Down?

There are several ways you can hold your driftwood down in your tank. Holding driftwood down will allow quick saturation of the driftwood. One of the common ways to hold down driftwood is by suspending a weight against it.

You can have a weight tied against the driftwood, such that the weight pulls the wood into the water. You can use a string to keep the weight connected to the wood or attach the weight to the wood. The former method is advisable as you are sure to get the best result.

You can also drill holes in the wood and attach suction cups. You will attach the suction cups to the driftwood such that you can stick them to the bottom of the tank. The suction cups will help hold the driftwood to the bottom of the tank.

There are several ways you can hold your driftwood to the bottom of the tank. You can improvise new ways to keep the wood submerged in the water. You have to make sure your driftwood stays in the water to ensure saturation, hence, the sinking of your driftwood.

Does Boiling Wood Make it Sink?

Boiling woods will speed up their sinking process. If you want to add wood to your fish tank, you can boil it before putting it in the water. Boiling will help the wood get saturated at a faster rate.

Boiling your wood is not compulsory if you want to sink it. Your wood will sink if you note other considerations and do not boil it. You can suspend the driftwood in ordinary water and wait for it to sink.

Whether boiling the water or keeping it at a normal temperature, you need to keep the driftwood submerged in water. Keeping it submerged will ensure that the water gets into it and make it sink.

Conclusion

You can sink your driftwood in your tank by submerging it in water. You can also ensure a faster process by boiling it in water for a long period. Keep the wood submerged in water till it sinks.

John Brandon

John has kept fish all his life (since he was about 5). He started with keeping guppies and fell in love with fish keeping almost straight away. That was 40 odd years ago. These days John still keeps fish and currently has two large tanks where he keeps many different types of fish such as Angelfish, Neon Tetras, Goldfish, Guppies and many more.

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