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Gang,

I need your help and advice again (what else is new?). I had the pleasure of going on a little field trip to Upstate New York. I came to a gorge and saw on various spots pileups of wood. I know that they have been created during the winter time when the small stream carries more water, but now they are all exposed. I collected a few pieces of wood and was on my way back when I saw the one pile that was out of view before. And what can I tell you, I found a piece that I really like.

I will spare you the details, but I can tell you it involved a 10 yard long tree stomp to pry the object of my desire out of the huge pile (and I was all by myself, I felt really cool).

Once I got it, I went on to cut it to an almost reasonable size. I intend to use it in my, hopefully soon, to be set up 125 G with the dimensions of 72” x 18” x 24” (L x W x H). Now here come my questions:

- How do I treat this piece of wood? Don’t tell me to boil it as I don’t have a pot that would even remotely be large enough to fit it. Neither suggest the bath tub as my wife would kill me.
- In general, do you think it is safe to use?
- What do you think about this wood in the first place?
- Which position should I place it in (I attach 2 pics with the current dimension for the layout, but you could suggest other ideas as well)? I would have to cut it no matter what in order to fit in the tank.

Thanks already,

Ingo

Without further ado, here is the first layout suggestion, being 64” x 25” x 29”

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here is the second layout option with 51” x 35” x 39”

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well...the third option in sanatizing is to use the oven, although it looks a bit large for that.

And the fourth option is one that takes guts...bleach and a large bucket or as was already rejected bathtub. I've used various combos of all those methods.

What worries me is that there is some algae or moss showing on it, unless that's just the pic . Since it's wildfound I'd prefer to see it sanatized in some way...how hot does it in your area? Any chance of just leaving it in the car parked in the sun on a really bright day (I've broken thermometers doing that BTW ).

The trick used quite often for large pieces of wood is to cut them puzzle piece fashion then reassemble after boiling. This of course means you need to dry it out fully, silicone, then resoak in hot water to get it to sink.

As for which way...I like with the three legs down...shows off that twist a bit nicer.

^_^[hr width='40%']"When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD IT BE WORSE?" ~Coldplay

You can be bold by spraying it with a bleach solution that is 1 part bleach and 19 parts water. Let it sit for a minute or so then thoroughly rinse it. Let it dry outside for a day or two then place it in a 30G rubbermaid trashcan with a dose of dechlorinator prior to use.

By the way, interesting tank decor - asphalt and vinyl siding for a backdrop. Is it going to be a Midwest biotope tank?

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

LITTLE_FISH

Can you get hold of a steam cleaner that will do then leave them in the sun for a few weeks then steam them again.

As far as the placement it would depend on the total aquscape.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Bob – Funny Funny

But I have to say that am slightly insulted – this is wood and not vinyl
I have a 30G trash can, it is way too small.

Keith – sorry, no steam cleaner here, but I might listen around where I could get one.

As far as the placement it would depend on the total aquscape

My approach towards an aquarium design is slightly different than yours (or maybe we mean the same but don’t express it the same):

I basically get the idea of what kind of fish I want first (small community).
Then, I identify what plants / light I would like to add (standard plants that do well in up to 3wpg with CO2).
Then, I define the substrate (small gravel with ferts).
Then, I identify the major decorative items (say wood)

Now comes my approach of putting it all together -----

I believe that the major decorative items, like large pieces of wood or large rocks, define the tank design and not vice versa. Means, I would not plant my tank and afterwards try to fit the wood into the design but rather place the wood and then plant to fulfill the picture (same counts for gravel surface, smaller items like rock pebbles, etc).

To sum up my philosophy: Large objects are THE defining elements of a tank’s design.

Anybody - let me know if you have other opinions about this, I appreciate any input that might re-shape my mind-scape

Thanks in advance,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LITTLE_FISH


My approach was basically the same as you for my 11G tank.
Before any of this could take place it involved many hours of research and 100s of Klm in driving to get the required items total 7 LFS Cost never came into it.
This does not include the desigining, making and finishing of the tank base support. Also the drawer fitted under my desk to hold all the bits and pieces.
1 The tank was to be for one M Betta.
2 Select tank design and size.
3 Locate the shape and size DW I wanted.
4 Draw a full size plane to establish location of DW and general aquscape.
5 Select plants and their availability. No Co2
7 Locate the substrate that would blend in with the total design.
8 Select the lighting for the plants.
9 Finally filtration and heating.

Many of these overlapped but it all evolved around the DW and the planting aquscape.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

An update on my driftwood:

It has been sitting on the porch now for 3 days and the branches, including the main branch, are cracking open along the lenght.

Bad thing?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

It looks too fresh. Driftwood needs to be just that - driftwood. Should have been submerged at least 3 years before safe to put in a tank.

To be honest from the pic it looks a piece that's never been submerged. Did you find it in water or near water? Maybe it just ended up near the stream but was never in it ?

Fallen or dead wood just found in the forest is not good. The sap and resin and whatever little critters in there will cause chaos in a tank.

Unless you are sure it's spent considerable time under water I wouldn't use it.

Last edited by bensaf at 18-Aug-2005 08:27

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Sadly, I concur with much of the above.

If you haven't the means to treat those big branches so that they'll be safe, i wouldn't use them. And, with pieces that size, the only way you'll get them safe without spending an awful lot of money on kit, is to find a stream where you can leave it immersed for about 3 years.

Now if you lived near a stream or a lake, then you'd probably be able to find far superior items of similar shape littering the stream or lake bed. Otherwise, you're looking at finding a VERY large vessel to put it in, then some means of heating said vessel to boiling point for about 10 hours. Job for an old fashioned witches' cauldron that one - and a cauldron big enough for you to stand in at that!

Which goes some way toward explaining why big pieces of bogwood suitable for large Cichlid tanks, for example, are hideously expensive if you buy them from your LFS.

Now there's a thought. You could set up in business. Get hold of a big industrial pressure cooker, pre-treat batches of wood (250 pounds or more at a time), then sell the wood at a premium.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks guys,

Although the news you carry are rather disappointing. You have no idea what I had to go through to prey the wood out of a huge pile of trees and branches. On second thought, it was a lot of fun.

I can with almost certainty say that it has not been submersed for 3 years. It was submersed last winter as it was washed by the gorge into the pile. Maybe for a month or two.

Well, it was worth a shot. Anyway, on the same trip I collected another piece. I will post a picture of it when I get home tonight. Maybe you can tell me if this one looks good.

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

For the record. I've had deadwood in my tanks for going on three years now. The only trouble I've had is what garyroland mentioned would happen, the wood I've been using is pine and seems rather soft though I've never noticed any trouble. Suppose if I did have a BN that would be different entirely.
I was careful about the wood I selected. If it looked interesting and was compleatly dry with no signs of infestation, then it was treated.

^_^[font color="#999999][hr width='40%']"When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD IT BE WORSE?" ~Coldplay" ][hr width='40%']"When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD IT BE WORSE?" ~Coldplay

well i was going to suggest a small infladable pool of some sort? you know like a kiddy pool you get at k mart? you could use somthing like that for submurging or curing? just a thought for future reference

nick

Nick
"Impossumable- unable to play dead"

Nick,

Thank you so much for your input. I have thought about this as well, given that we have such a pool already. I would have to wait until I could use it though, the kids want to have it these days

In addition, it creates the problem of mosquito breeding, and I am not too wild about the idea of giving these suckers a perfect home. Furthermore, if Bensaf and Cali are right, having this pool there for 3 years straight seems not worth the trouble.

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well stock it as a tiny outdoor pond and get some mosquito fish for the evil nasty horrible little pests (I have a big thing against them...they keep me from using my garden all summer).

And get the kiddies a larger pool....in fact this is a perfect reason to have an inground dug .

^_^[font color="#999999][hr width='40%']"When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD I" ][hr width='40%']"When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD IT BE WORSE?" ~Coldplay