IceCap Driftwood, XLarge (24in-32in)

1. Unbox your IC-WDXL centerpiece wood carefully. Give the piece a thorough visual inspection to choose your favorite display orientation and angles before prep work.
2. Place the piece into a clean utility tub or plastic storage bin and scrub all surfaces down with a stiff-bristled brush using hot tap water to remove loose dust, soil, or transit grit. Warning: Never clean using household soaps or chemical detergents.
3. Submerge the wood completely in clean fresh water for several days to allow the dry fibers to fully saturate. Pro Tip: Because extra-large, dry wood holds incredible buoyancy, weigh it down with clean stones, bricks, or heavy slate blocks until it stops floating and sinks naturally.
4. Change out the soaking water every 48 hours during the pre-soak stage to safely bleed off the initial heavy flush of dark organic tannins before the piece goes into your display tank.
5. Once fully waterlogged, carefully position the driftwood into your empty aquarium, checking that no edges lean directly against the glass panels where they could trap fish or scratch the pane.
6. Anchor the base securely with your chosen substrate or heavy accent rocks, fill the tank with water slowly using a diffuser plate, and turn on your filtration system to clear out any residual wood particles.

Pro Tips:

• Secure the Massive Wood Matrix with Heavy Slate Foundations During Setup. Because an extra-large 24" to 32" driftwood piece holds a tremendous amount of trapped air inside its dense core fibers, it can take up to a month or more to sink entirely on its own. To bypass an exhausting pre-soak, use stainless steel screws to attach the lowest points of the wood directly onto a heavy flat slab of slate or egg-crate plastic grid before putting it into the tank. Burying that heavy plate completely underneath your sand and weighting it down with large accent rocks will keep the massive centerpiece perfectly locked in place from day one.
• Do Not Panic Over the Initial White Bio-Film Outbreak—It is Harmless. Within the first two weeks of submerging fresh driftwood in a newly established aquarium, a thick, jelly-like white slime or fuzzy fungus layer will typically grow across the surface. Don't worry, this is completely normal! This occurs because harmless, natural airborne bacteria are consuming the leftover sugars and starches locked deep within the raw wood fibers. This slime layer is completely safe and makes an excellent snack for fish like Mollies, Otocinclus Catfish, and Neocaridina shrimp, who will pick the wood completely clean within a week.
• Keep an Active Stash of Chemical Filter Media on Hand to Control Tannins. All high-end natural woods contain organic compounds called tannins that will slowly bleed out into your aquarium water, tinting it a warm, tea-colored amber. While these tannins are fantastic for lowering your pH and boosting fish immune systems, you can easily control the tint if you prefer a crystal-clear look. Simply place a bag of high-performance activated carbon or Seachem Purigen directly inside a high-flow chamber of your canister filter or sump loop to pull the coloration out of the water instantly.