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Scaping wood feedback

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brendonjw

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I've just bought a new tank :) going from a 180ltr tall to a 240ltr wide as i want to go down a scaping route and have a nice school of corys.

The tank has arrived and i've setup the cabinet.

I cut down a tree in the back yard that i've been waiting to cut down for this very project.

I've still got to clean the wood up (give it a scrub and put it in boiling water, is there anything else that people would recommend for it?) but just after some feedback on if its a little to cluttered in there (im on the fence on this one.) I'm thinking of trimming some of the branches back just a bit so less are touching the side, or pull the two main branches together and screw them together so they don't touch the edge.)

It will have a sand base (i've just bought the sand and still need to wash it.)

The back will be painted black (the picture is taken from the back before anyone says anything as im going to take the internal filter out so i can reuse my existing established canister.)

Anyway, thoughts on the wood?
 

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Oh, i also plan to have a school of smaller fish, rasporas or something. The tank is a Rio240 for scale.
 
Was the tree dead, or live when you cut it down? Do you know the tree species, or if it was a hardwood or softwood?
 
Byron said:
Was the tree dead, or live when you cut it down? Do you know the tree species, or if it was a hardwood or softwood?
Click to expand...
It was dead and a hardwood of some sort.
 
OK, good. Only hardwood should ever be used in an aquarium, and then only if it is naturally dead dry. If you can break off a piece at the thickest end and it snaps off, it should be dead dry.

As for the aquascape questions...I find it difficult to visualize when there is so much reflection...can you attach a plain black covering to what will be the back wall of the tank...construction paper, black garbage bag, anything temporary?

Sometimes I do a lot of experimenting with wood. Try it in different arrangements, note what you like or don't like...don't be hasty to cut it as that is non-reversible.
 
Last edited:
Byron said:
OK, good. Only hardwood should ever be used in an aquarium, and then only if it is naturally dead dry. If you can break off a piece at the thickest end and it snaps off, it should be dead dry.

As for the aquascape questions...I find it difficult to visualize when there is so much reflection...can you attach a plain black covering to what will be the back wall of the tank...construction paper, black garbage bag, anything temporary?

Sometimes I do a lot of experimenting with wood. Try it in different arrangements, not what you like or don't like...don't be hasty to cut it as that is non-reversible.
Click to expand...
Yeah i know what you mean about the reflection, i'm just getting it ready in the garage right now and thought id take a few pics as i headed out the door.

I'll get the black paint and post up in a week or two haha.
 
Byron said:
OK, good. Only hardwood should ever be used in an aquarium, and then only if it is naturally dead dry. If you can break off a piece at the thickest end and it snaps off, it should be dead dry.

As for the aquascape questions...I find it difficult to visualize when there is so much reflection...can you attach a plain black covering to what will be the back wall of the tank...construction paper, black garbage bag, anything temporary?

Sometimes I do a lot of experimenting with wood. Try it in different arrangements, note what you like or don't like...don't be hasty to cut it as that is non-reversible.
Click to expand...
Why should only hard wood be used? Is it because soft wood might break easil?
 
Chickenboi said:
Why should only hard wood be used? Is it because soft wood might break easil?
Click to expand...

Softwood includes conifers like Pine, spruce, cedar, etc, and these contain very toxic saps. Softwood also breaks apart and rots much faster, which is in itself another toxin.
 
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ok. Got the back painted black and internal filter removed now
 
Love that piece of wood! Can't wait to see this tank really come together!
 
The usual "law" of aquascaping is the V, with the base of the V at the back. This pulls the eye to the point chosen, and that choice has as much to do with the room as the tank. You want to draw the eye in (rather than having a flat tableau) from where you'll look at the. Every "V" I make is asymmetrical.

I like to put hardwood in a tub, weighted down, and soak it outdoors for a few months til it's waterlogged. As a Canadian, I usually work with maple, and it remains frustratingly buoyant for a very long time.

I live surrounded by evergreen woods, and some of the pieces I find are beautiful, but softwood... I can't use it because of the resins as @Byron pointed out. I've never bought wood for my tanks - I collect it when I find good pieces of hardwood. But that question of buoyancy is one you'll have to address. Boiling is just a start in most cases, and large pieces are hard to boil.

Whatever trouble it puts you to is worth it. That will look very good.
 
GaryE said:
The usual "law" of aquascaping is the V, with the base of the V at the back. This pulls the eye to the point chosen, and that choice has as much to do with the room as the tank. You want to draw the eye in (rather than having a flat tableau) from where you'll look at the. Every "V" I make is asymmetrical.

I like to put hardwood in a tub, weighted down, and soak it outdoors for a few months til it's waterlogged. As a Canadian, I usually work with maple, and it remains frustratingly buoyant for a very long time.

I live surrounded by evergreen woods, and some of the pieces I find are beautiful, but softwood... I can't use it because of the resins as @Byron pointed out. I've never bought wood for my tanks - I collect it when I find good pieces of hardwood. But that question of buoyancy is one you'll have to address. Boiling is just a start in most cases, and large pieces are hard to boil.

Whatever trouble it puts you to is worth it. That will look very good.
Click to expand...
It's already been sitting in water and sunk within a week so hopefully that ok. Yeah I need to look into the v rule more. Here a pic with it on its side
 

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The "V" idea is a common one with paintings, but its usefulness in an aquarium is something else. As soon as you draw the eye to some point, you minimize the space visually. That would not be easy to do with a single piece of wood as large and multi-branched as this one even if you wanted to. From earlier, you are planning small shoaling fish, so this is ideal. You would have the wood basically "the" tank.
 
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