Curing Driftwood? Strange thing in sand

[SpitFyre]

Hi all! Got two questions for you guys today!

While we were in Jekyl Island we found a piece of driftwood on the beach. We bought it home with us and would like to put it in our tank at some point. How do we cure it and make it tank safe?

Also my parents attended the GVMA in Destin FL and she bought me back these strange things she found in the sand. We don't think we should put them in our tank, they look like some sort of pest. They are all white and swim very, very fast. They live underwater and seem to dig into the sand and blend in very well. They are about 1/4 inch long. Their body is shaped similar to a flea. What could they be?

[1ofManyNguyens]

pictures would help in the ID

[SpitFyre]

I really like that black and white clown in your picture there.

Our camera battery is dead, but I will get one up as soon as possible.

[1ofManyNguyens]

Thanks. He has a lot of character as do most clowns. and is always the first to attack me when i go in the tank.

Once you get a picture up im sure someone here will be able to help you with the ID

[Luukosian]

I would skip on the driftwood. No matter how you cure it your still going to have some tannins in the wood that will not only turn your water a tea color(depending on how big a peice, and if you run carbon) but have a potential to impact the ph of your tank. If you really want it in your tank and its not a very large peice I would boil it and keep replacing the brown water with fresh until it is clear(ussualy a couple hours at least). After you have done that I would float it in a bucket of RO water for a couple weeks until it sinks then you are good to go. Unless you are doing a species tank with mangrove roots or something I wouldn't go through the trouble, looks kind of unnatural(although different) for a reef tank.

As far as your ID, google "mole crab"

[SpitFyre]

Thank you so much! I googled it, and there it was! A mole crab! Our LFS told me it was a sand flea...We knew better then that.

Thank you for the tips on driftwood. Yes, it is a rather large piece. I think maybe we'll just use it as decoration in the gecko cage!

[1ofManyNguyens]

Originally Posted by SpitFyre

Thank you so much! I googled it, and there it was! A mole crab! Our LFS told me it was a sand flea...We knew better then that.

Thank you for the tips on driftwood. Yes, it is a rather large piece. I think maybe we'll just use it as decoration in the gecko cage!

Some people call mole crabs by sand flea/sea fleas.

[SpitFyre]

I didn't know that. The only sand fleas I had ever heard of before only live on land. It's true, you learn something every day!

[csmsss]

Originally Posted by Luukosian

I would skip on the driftwood. No matter how you cure it your still going to have some tannins in the wood that will not only turn your water a tea color(depending on how big a peice, and if you run carbon) but have a potential to impact the ph of your tank. If you really want it in your tank and its not a very large peice I would boil it and keep replacing the brown water with fresh until it is clear(ussualy a couple hours at least). After you have done that I would float it in a bucket of RO water for a couple weeks until it sinks then you are good to go. Unless you are doing a species tank with mangrove roots or something I wouldn't go through the trouble, looks kind of unnatural(although different) for a reef tank.

As far as your ID, google "mole crab"

Bingo. Driftwood is AWESOME for freshwater tanks - I kept a discus tank with stacked driftwood and once I added it, needed absolutely no help maintaining a pH of 6.2. The water also turned the color of tea (which I really liked, but is definitely an acquired taste).

I really wouldn't recommend driftwood in a reef tank, as there is no way of knowing what it's been exposed to - wood tends to absorb metallic elements and you just can't be sure what's going to leach back out once you immerse it in water.