I've managed to get hold of some old roof slate from a roofing merchants and besides giving it a good clean, Is there anything else I need to do to it before introducing it in to my tank?
If you're still worried you can give the slate a soak in boiling water. Most of my tank decor is placed in boiling water before it goes in the tanks, it's especially important with driftwood so as to remove as much of the tannins in the wood as possible. Then again this is not really necessary if you are setting up a black water tank.
Placing it in boiling water is a good idea, just to be on the safe side. If they are re-claime slate check for any black tar still stuck to the undersides of the slate.
Also it is a good idea to just run soume rough sandpaper over the edges to remove any really sharp bits.
have fun!
rob
The perfect white lie..."Of course I didn't pay that much for the fish honey"
Thanks for the input guys. They are reclaimed slate but I gave them a good clean with a scrubbing brush to get all the surface dirt off and soaked them in boiling water for a few hours. I did place them in the tank where I wanted them but got paranoid that there might be something I missed so took them out again.
I got a decent amount of this slate so I've got a bit of work to do re-sizing and re-shaping to make some crevices and hiding places for them, it's all go isn't it!!
How long would you recommend soaking new driftwood for?
I'm getting hold of some, I believe to be mopani, in the next few days.
I don't presoak mopani wood at all, just rinse it off well. Then again, I like the tannic water look and I do more water changes than most people deem necessary. It's going to be all about the aesthetics of it for you, IMO .