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What do I do to cure it?

Also, what types of plants should I get, I need fast growing ground coverage?

Hi there,
well it really depends where you live
whether you can use river wood.
I live in BC, Canada,
and the rivers here on Vancouver island are
very clean, so I used river wood myself.
To cure it, you scrub it with a wire brush,
and then soak it until it sinks, or at least
for 2-3 weeks to leech some of the tannins out.
Avoid Cedar - it can be highly toxic.

For plants, it really depends on your lighting.
For fast growing ground plants, youre looking
at needing at least 3 watts per gallon, and
possible c02 injection.
For less light there is lower light plants,
but these dont usually grow fast or provide
total ground cover.



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SV Sneaky gave some great advice...it really does depend on where you are. For instance I wouldnt use wood I find in the water around here (washington DC) but I have used dead wood that has just fallen from the trees and looks mostly clean...

Anyway...

One thing I'd suggest in addition to what was already mentioned is to boil or bake the wood to kill any hitchhikers you may have on it. Make sure you do this on a warm day (I know it's the wrong time of year ) when you can open the windows in the kitchen as it's rather smelly .

^_^

Thanks for the advice. I also live in BC! And it just so happens I live in the city with the best drinking water in Canada. I am sure our rivers are clean enough then. LOL I once heard that it is not a good idea to bake/boil..... Is there any truth in that? Now all I got to do is wait for the damm snow to melt.

Him
There is some discussion about boiling and baking damaging
the internal structure of the wood and weakening it.
The concern is that the cells would dry out and break
down allowing the wood to crumble easily.

The idea of the heat is to make it uncomfortable for any
"critters" in the wood and they would either die, or
escape. On the other hand they may just burrow deeper
into the cooler center of the wood.

Scrub it, and soak it so that it sinks and no longer
gives off any tannins (turns the water to a tea like color).

I don't know of any "fast growing" foreground plant that
does not require 3+ watts/gallon of light.

Frank


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Wood being my back ground trade and teaching. Any type of excessive heat will damage the structure of the timber. Whem they are drying timber they do use a controlled heat in especially built kilns but there is always plenty of moisture around the timber.

I would be very wary of any self collected timber for DW first is the water where it comes from 100% perfectly safe, the type of timber has it been subject to any sprays or poluted soils, unless you know exactly what you are doing I would not even consider it.
I have collected several pieces of DW over the years but all have been collected from far north tropical Aust where the timber has been drifting possibly for many years and being baked in the hot tropical sun.

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Hi Again!

Just wondering on lighting options now. So currently I have a 36" 30Watt florescent light. What type of light would I need then for my tank to incourage plant growth. What about a black light?

Hi,
You don't mention what the capacity of the tank is.
Take the 30 watts and divide that by the tank capacity.
That equals the watts per gallon (WPG).
Go to the Planted Aquaria forum on this site and read
the first article on planted tanks. In it you will find
a wealth of information. If you decide to go the 3+ WPG,
you will also need to inject CO2 as with that amount of
light you are really driving the plants and will need
to furnish more nutrients, including Carbon, than the
tank can furnish naturally.

As for the bulb itself, if it has SUNLIGHT or DAYLIGHT
somewhere in its name, then it is great for the plants
and for you to observe the fauna in the tank.
The ones with "Glow" or "Grow" frequently give off light
that has a pinkish/purplish glow that affects the colors
observed by we humans, and tends to wash out the colors
in the tank.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--