Wood

[foster75]

hi all, i'm just setting up my tank and wanted to use a nice big lump of bog wood but it costs a fortune. can i use any wood if i cleaned it up and how do you get it to stay on the bottom and not float?

thanks

 

[thereverendturtle]

I know what you mean. It is truly easier in the long run to pay out the nose for wood at the store. Otherwise it involves lots of boiling and soaking just to get the wood possibly safe for your aquarium. I know a lot of people do it, including myself, but I don't mind the waiting.

 

[minnnt]

The majority of my wood is collected. If you can source some Beech or Oak wood that is thoroughly hard and free from bark then you will be fine. I have also used pine before with no issues, but you have to ensure it is free from sap. (i.e. very dead!) I currently have a piece of beech drying out that will make for a very nice feature indeed.

As for floating, you will have to weight it down or wedge it in your tank until it sinks. This can take literally ages, years sometimes. I just tend to put rocks around it and over it to keep it in place then plant around it and through it to create a natural look.

 

[foster75]

i like the look you have with the plants growing on the wood. i looked in pets at home yesterday they had some but at £50 a pop

 

[minnnt]

Lol! Everything i have i have attatched myself. It only takes a few minutes and some cotton.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Lol! Everything i have i have attatched myself. It only takes a few minutes and some cotton.

Cotton? Wouldnt that rot?

I use superglue or fishing line.


Tom

 

[minnnt]

Well, i used it about a year ago and it's still there. But i guess by the time it does (if) rot then the plant should already be attatched. Some of my mosses attatch in two weeks.

 

[Steve H.]

The majority of my wood is collected. If you can source some Beech or Oak wood that is thoroughly hard and free from bark then you will be fine. I have also used pine before with no issues, but you have to ensure it is free from sap. (i.e. very dead!) I currently have a piece of beech drying out that will make for a very nice feature indeed.

As for floating, you will have to weight it down or wedge it in your tank until it sinks. This can take literally ages, years sometimes. I just tend to put rocks around it and over it to keep it in place then plant around it and through it to create a natural look.

The majority of my wood is collected. If you can source some Beech or Oak wood that is thoroughly hard and free from bark then you will be fine. I have also used pine before with no issues, but you have to ensure it is free from sap. (i.e. very dead!) I currently have a piece of beech drying out that will make for a very nice feature indeed.

As for floating, you will have to weight it down or wedge it in your tank until it sinks. This can take literally ages, years sometimes. I just tend to put rocks around it and over it to keep it in place then plant around it and through it to create a natural look.

That is a sweet looking tank. When I get to that level I am defiantly looking you up for advice!

 

[minnnt]

Lol, thanks very much! That was a very easy tank to achieve and maintain. Jungle scapes always are. A proper scape takes way more looking after and thought.

 

[Zikofski]

The majority of my wood is collected. If you can source some Beech or Oak wood that is thoroughly hard and free from bark then you will be fine. I have also used pine before with no issues, but you have to ensure it is free from sap. (i.e. very dead!) I currently have a piece of beech drying out that will make for a very nice feature indeed.

As for floating, you will have to weight it down or wedge it in your tank until it sinks. This can take literally ages, years sometimes. I just tend to put rocks around it and over it to keep it in place then plant around it and through it to create a natural look.

sorry to barge in but i am also looking at wood from the woods for my tank if we can't find an already dead piece of wood is it possible to make wood dead if thats possible, i don't know boiling cooking or keeping it in a bucked submerged? is there away on killing wood so its safe for a tank?

 

[minnnt]

Dry it out by the radiator mate. No other way i can think of really. You will then definately need to weight it down in the tank. You should be able to find some dead though from the woods.

 

[Zikofski]

Dry it out by the radiator mate. No other way i can think of really. You will then definately need to weight it down in the tank. You should be able to find some dead though from the woods.

kl cheers ye I'm gone go and look in the woods over the next few days hopefully a few decent dead ones lying around