I have an Idea ...... What do you think ?

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DanDanUK

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 2, 2005
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I'm tring to think of a cheap way of decorating my tank, I'll get straight to the point, I'm thinking of adding some tree branches into my tank straight from the tree obviously i'm gonna wash them down and take off any sharp twiggs.

The look i'm after in my tank is a little aztec / amazon look with a few extra details.

Would the tree branches be ok in the tank ???????????
 
I tried this in one of my turtle habitats. They tend to stain the water, and if any of it sticks out the top, it will probably mold. I'm sure there's some way to "cure" them so that it'll work. Anyone?
 
I would not use tree branches...if you do, I would let them dry out first. You would not want wet wood in your tank...You can "bake" them in the oven...at a low temp, and for a long time...or just put it out in the sun to dry for a few days....They do carry manzanita branches at the LFS....you should go and see if yours carries these....Its a great alternative to using tree branches and it does not leach out...The tree branches may have a harmful bacteria in it that may cause damage to your fishies! I hope this helps!
Jen ;)
 
I have done it before. I let the wood dry first, then I boil it...many MANY times. I cannot remember how much I boiled it but I probably did it everyday for a week for about half an hour. Anyway...doing this gets rid of the brown color, kills everything and makes it sink. If you are going for the Amazon look a little brown stain the the water would be kinda cool. Thats what I am going to do with my native bio-tope tank. The place I catch them has really brown water with lots of wood.
 
Try to get a hardwood, manzanita is great because it gets twisty branches.
remove all the bark, boil that sucker at a simmer through at least three changes of water to drive out the sap, then soak it in clean water for several days to see if it leaches and to waterlog it. Make sure you don't use a toxic shrub. It looks good and is worth the effort.
 
i have driftwood in my tank from the ocean, i boiled it for HOURS on end untill it stopped oozing sap everywhere and its cheap, efficient and looks great. i used cedar
 
I never realized that the manzanita would be safe in aquariums. That may be perfect for my 200.

Guppy, so are you saying that even the manzanita pieces you buy from the pet store need to be boiled? And any recommendations on boiling bigger pieces?
 
I have never bought it, I was given some once and lived near a stand of it in Medford Oregon, I have used Madrone also but it needs to be dried then boiled several times as much as manzanita or it tints the water red. I have used root tangles of a variety of woods that I pulled from exposed creek banks also, I like the root woood because it is dense and often forms interesting shapes. Mainly just avoid things like manicheel, yew, spruce, greasewood, creasote bush, and oleander.
The few large pieces I treated were boiled in a turkey deep fryer or 12g stock pot and once, using 3 propane burners a 180g steel horse trough then soaked in a couple 55g rain barrels.
 
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