# how to clean shells and driftwood?



## mdrew (Dec 23, 2010)

how to clean shells and driftwood?



I am in Vancover visiting family and found a beautiful peice of driftwood down at the beach in addition to a bunch of beautiful shells that I would love to put in my aquarium. They are from saltwater and my aquarium is freshwater. What can i do to make these shells compatible? fish are angels and gbr. It has been suggested to me that I boil the shells and bake the driftwood in my oven, will that work?



Thank you


----------



## direlime (Jul 17, 2008)

I have also heard that boiling the shells will work. I would also try and boil the driftwood instead of baking it. It just seems like it would soak into the wood and more thouroughly clean it? Although i don't know for sure. Definately boil the shells though.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Soaking driftwood will help it stay sunk and remove excess salt. This a the harder problem.

Shells are pretty hard and a good scrub and a hot water or bleach dip would likely do it, or even run them through the dishwasher.


----------



## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

thats what i did. Just boil a kettle and put it in a bucked.Put your wood in and leave it there for at least 12 hours (well thats what i did)


----------



## mdrew (Dec 23, 2010)

Thank you all so much for your help!

I will treat the the driftwood and use that but I'm still unsure of the shells since some say that since they are saltwater shell they will slowly break down and harden the water. its a shame since they'd be such a beautiful addition I wonder if frequent cleaning and balancing would help but I'm a newb so one thing at a time.

I'm thinking I'll do the boiling water in the bathtub or sink, let sit over night and then bake it in the oven at 500f to kill the bacteria, then do another couple rounds of boiling water to 
Make sure all of the salt is gone.

I wonder if boiling the shells in water and a ph balancing solution would do some good?

I do love the idea of putting the through the dish washer lol. Bleaching would work but wouldn't that possibly harm my fish?

What do you think?

Thank you!


----------



## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I have boiled shells in my tank and my water fine! The only downside though is that brown algae likes to grow on them... Worth it if you have some cleaners though!


----------



## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

I take a few old toothbrushes, and just work at my driftwook in and under hot water if it gets grimy.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

bleach on shells will rinse/evaporate off or be taken care of by dechlor. I don't think you could be sure of getting it all out of driftwood. Maybe if you let it dry completely in the sunlight. 

I don't think pH balancing solution would be much different than water. Maybe the shells would dissolve a little less during the cooking. Shells are going to effect your hardness and pH unless you seal them in plastic.


----------



## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

emc7 brought up the issue that jumped out to me as soon as I saw the title of the thread - shells are going to raise your pH and hardness.

Depending on your water, tank size, and the number (and surface area) of the shells, this could cause some headaches, especially if you have soft water fishes like Angels.


----------



## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

I used the dishwasher myself for an awesome piece of wood I found at the edge of a lake. Seashells that my daughters find on the beaches around here I just wash off with hand soap and water. I found some great rocks in a brackish river that had dozens of barnacles and some clams growing on them. Those I put straight into the water. Probably not the best idea, but I did it anyway. Many of the barnacles and a few clams are still alive 7 months later.


----------



## mdrew (Dec 23, 2010)

Which are the most thorough cleaners and are compatible with angels and gbr?
Thank you!!!


----------



## mdrew (Dec 23, 2010)

funlad3 said:


> I have boiled shells in my tank and my water fine! The only downside though is that brown algae likes to grow on them... Worth it if you have some cleaners though!


are yours also salt water shells in a freshwater tank?

ty


----------



## mdrew (Dec 23, 2010)

SGT Z said:


> I used the dishwasher myself for an awesome piece of wood I found at the edge of a lake. Seashells that my daughters find on the beaches around here I just wash off with hand soap and water. I found some great rocks in a brackish river that had dozens of barnacles and some clams growing on them. Those I put straight into the water. Probably not the best idea, but I did it anyway. Many of the barnacles and a few clams are still alive 7 months later.


then you must have a salt water tank, yes? i am talking about salt water shells in a freshwater tank.


----------

