330L Tank Journal

[mike455555]

just put hot water over it that should be fine

 

[minnnt]

just put hot water over it that should be fine

Don't boil it as it will break down the wood quicker. Boiling water will be fine like Mike says.

Can't really tell what wood it is from the video, but should be fine if it is fully dry.

 

[minnnt]

What i mean is that play sand has a very light colour which can often not show the fish in their best colours due to reflections and surroundings. A black background will also help to show them in their full glory.

For instance

Light substrate, no background:

Dark substrate and a black background:

 

[Zikofski]

okay thnx all i shall try and do that the only thing big enough for the wood is the tank it is going into i could fill the tank up with warm water then gently poor the boiling water over it but i don't want to crack the glass il find away

now I'm not 100% sure on this but dose the wood haft to be striped of the bark or can that go into the tank to? I'm pretty sure what what other people have said it needs to be de barked? obviously i shall remove the bark that has the fugi and moss growing on it

it will take me a few days/weeks for the wood to dry been outside for the last year I'm sure the sap has all gone from the wood just hope its not rotting from the inside : il take a better look tomo as it will be dry strip most f the tiny twigs from it and measure it up find a nice piece to cut away for the tank

thnx minnnt i shall have a look at the dark substrate with bark background my gf did love in our lfs the marine setups of light substrate (sand) dark blue background well see but in the 2 pics you have shown i can see the difference it makes cheers

i try and get a decent pic of the wood tomo in daylight sos for the crappy vid earlier

 

[minnnt]

When i say dry, i meant of sap.

Debark it then pour a few kettles of boiling water over it and scrub it with a stiff brush to remove any loose fibres etc. and you will be fine mate. Some nice plecs would love to be knawing and rasping on that wood i'm sure!

Nothing wrong with a light substrate mate, just warning you that some fish show better colour when kept in a darker setup. If going well planted then substrate will probably not make that much difference. Just ensure that you wash the play sand well!

 

[Zikofski]

When i say dry, i meant of sap.

Debark it then pour a few kettles of boiling water over it and scrub it with a stiff brush to remove any loose fibres etc. and you will be fine mate. Some nice plecs would love to be knawing and rasping on that wood i'm sure!

Nothing wrong with a light substrate mate, just warning you that some fish show better colour when kept in a darker setup. If going well planted then substrate will probably not make that much difference. Just ensure that you wash the play sand well!

cheers ye i was thinking plecs I'm sure they will love it

i shall crack on working on that wood tomo I shall be surprised if there is sap in the wood, after is has been sat at the bottom of the garden for the last year, just got to clean it up il poor the boiling water over also grr i can't w8 sod xmas tomorrow needs to come quicker

 

[minnnt]

LOL!!

 

[Zikofski]

OMG where would I be without my GF despite being very ill she reminded me of the BATH and putting boiling water over it in that, lol forgot baths existed , earlier hahahah.

shall do what was suggested earlier then fill half the bath with warm water and poor boiling water over, i can then scrub it in the bath too

dw for those worrying about me messing up the bath we have a bath thats used to wash the dog in so no complaints from the parents haha

 

[Zikofski]

Okay i have a funy suspicion that this wood for some reason is wrong type to do into tanks but non the less i have been stripping it down and cutting it back it makes my tank look tiny

so here is the before picture inside i think the whole thing messed nearly 100" long got some trimming to do

okay here is the wood a little neater and trimmed slightly still dose not fit more cutting to do

hope to finish cutting it today get it in the tank see what it looks like th wood is very light so I think black or a dark orange sand not the light sand i was going to go with

 

[minnnt]

Unipac Senegal would be a great choice imo. I would also say the wood is Birch due to the sheen on the bark and the twiggy like extensions.

I would also cut it down to size from the top as the bottom end gives the wood a nice rise naturally rather than you having to wedge it or build it up with rocks etc. You could also still use the pieces you cut off and wedge it amongst the other piece.

 

[Zikofski]

yes thank you minnt i have managed to fit and in, it wedges it self as well tried to keep as much of the twiggy bits as well as the thick main part of it

that is all i am doing today going to enjoy the rest of the day shall leave it to dry out as the bark is very wet and just picks of in small bits so if dry it may be more crispy and easier to peel off wood under the bark looks good from a test piece i did shall leave it over xmas and will strip it remove more of the more spiky parts to the smaller branches and give it a nice hot bath to soak in and a good wash down hope you like

 

[Trin3ty]

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. It is a very good idea which I may do myself- my 90L tank is currently undergoing fishless cycling as I have started again, this time with real plants, bogwood and stone with a sand substrate. I definately want some corys but apart from that I am stil undecided.

Reading this forum has given me some really good ideas and options.

Looking forward to seeing more pics

 

[mike455555]

it could be hawthorn? its got little spikes on it?

is it a hard wood?

it looks great btw i cant wait to see what this turns out like

 

[Zikofski]

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. It is a very good idea which I may do myself- my 90L tank is currently undergoing fishless cycling as I have started again, this time with real plants, bogwood and stone with a sand substrate. I definately want some corys but apart from that I am stil undecided.

Reading this forum has given me some really good ideas and options.

Looking forward to seeing more pics

your welcome your tank sounds like a gd plan defiantly post up and show us some pics

i am glad my thread has proven useful to you

it could be hawthorn? its got little spikes on it?

is it a hard wood?

it looks great btw i cant wait to see what this turns out like

thank you mike ye i think so, it did have little spikes on it and was very very hard and dry to cut, my wood saw got like 1/3 way through and then no cutting small axe worked tho is this wood still gd for an aquarium?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It looks great! It should add a great deal to the decor. Now you just have to figure out what else to put in there.