Twigs/branch/roots Natural Look Advise

[geemacd]

I want to create something authentic looking in my F/W tank, I have a piece of bogwood in there just now but want something like a twig/branch/root structure in there.

I have seen pics of Nano's in here, with a branch structure (some come out of the top of the tank), but when you want to, I cant find an example of what I am looking for.

Does anyone know where you can get these sort of things ? or how you create these and with what materials ?

 

[iroc]

Some LFS carry twigs style wood

Like this:

It's sometimes very hard to find. I have found my own wood before but the prep time was very long ( baking, then soaking for 2 weeks) and a lot og that wood was useless in the end as it refused to stop floating

 

[geemacd]

Some LFS carry twigs style wood

Like this:

It's sometimes very hard to find. I have found my own wood before but the prep time was very long ( baking, then soaking for 2 weeks) and a lot og that wood was useless in the end as it refused to stop floating

yeah thats the sort of stuff I mean, that looks fantastic in that pic.

To be honest it doesnt have to have the moss, as in amongst the plants in my tank, I think it would look great. Its a pity all my LFS are garden centre's, all they tend to stock is same bits of bogwood etc

 

[mattb]

I know the feeling i would like some more twiggy bits of wood for my tank. All i can find are more bulky bits of wood.

 

[excaliborg]

If you can't find any then go for a walk round your local woodland and pick up any interesting twigs you find on the ground, as I've done in my tank (See journal in sig). Each twig is around 2cm in diameter and for preparation...

1. Scrub the branches with a scowring pad to get rid of all the bark or mud. Do this under running water.
2. Leave the twigs to soak for a day or two, put a weight on them to force them to be completely submerged
3. now put them in the oven whilst still wet. I set the fan oven to 150'C for 90 minutes.
4. Now take out the sticks (watch out they will be hot!) and leave them to cool. once cooled discard any sticks that feel soft if you press your fingernail into them
5. Now the most time consuming process, leave them to soak for around 2 weeks (under weight again to submerge them)
6. You should change the water every 3 or 4 days to get rid of the tanins in the wood which will stain the water a brown colour.

That's all I did with my sticks and they quite happily stay submerged and with weekly half water changes there has never been a brown tinge to the water colour.
Hope this is helpful!

 

[toxik]

Is grapevine safe for aquarium use? It's commonly used in reptire tanks.
http/www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_...lyID_13100.aspx