One of more common questions I am asked is whether or not one can collect their own driftwood and use them in their aquarium underwater or in beautifully aquascaped new wave aquaria tanks or “nature aquarium” setups. I wanted to go over the process of collecting driftwood that you can find near you, curing that driftwood so that you can use it in your aquarium underwater, and ways that you can employ it for any type of home aquaria.
Read as we explain how you can collect your own driftwood for use in your home aquaria. There are three sections on collecting, cleaning, and using your driftwood in your home aquaria.
Check the Table of Contents (below) for links to the articles.

Driftwood Series
I wanted to go over the process of collecting driftwood that you can find near you, curing that driftwood so that you can use it in your aquarium underwater, and ways that you can employ it for any type of home aquaria.
Driftwood Cleaning
Preparing your driftwood to add to your home aquarium or terrarium requires that it be both clean and sterile. There is real potential to bring pests and pathogens into the captive environment if proper techniques aren’t followed.
Driftwood Collection
The first consideration you should make when considering going on a driftwood collection trip is the rules in your local municipality.

Adding Driftwood to your Home Aquarium
oaking the pieces for a few weeks to saturate them with water can work, but can be time consuming. Additionally, not all pieces will take on enough water to achieve negative buoyancy. Weighing the pieces down with rocks during soaking can speed the process…but sometimes that’s not enough.