Glad you liked the thread.
I would be a little cautious of eucalyptus.
It's a very sappy tree.
I had one in my garden and I was tempted to try. Like you I could not find any reliable information . I decided to give it a miss.
Creating natural, functional cichlid display tanks
- Thread starter Stanzzzz7
- Start date
I would be a little cautious of eucalyptus.
It's a very sappy tree.
I had one in my garden and I was tempted to try. Like you I could not find any reliable information . I decided to give it a miss.
This is exactly why I pay out my rear for driftwood, and why it takes me forever to get anything done scape wise in my tanks. The only wood available locally is blue gum (eucalyptus) and I can't find anything guaranteeing its safety to my fish. Maybe if I were keeping Australian natives I'd give it a go, but with anything else I don't trust it so I pay a fortune at the pet store.
This is the same reason I don't add leaf litter to my tanks. It sucks because I think my cichlid and catfish would really enjoy it, but I'm not willing to risk their health for it.
Also great write up, very informative yet easy to understand for even the daftest of us (me!)
Thanks Kittiee. Are there no oak trees your side of the world ?This is exactly why I pay out my rear for driftwood, and why it takes me forever to get anything done scape wise in my tanks. The only wood available locally is blue gum (eucalyptus) and I can't find anything guaranteeing its safety to my fish. Maybe if I were keeping Australian natives I'd give it a go, but with anything else I don't trust it so I pay a fortune at the pet store.
This is the same reason I don't add leaf litter to my tanks. It sucks because I think my cichlid and catfish would really enjoy it, but I'm not willing to risk their health for it.
Also great write up, very informative yet easy to understand for even the daftest of us (me!)
Good advice, I will give the eucalypts a miss, unfortunately it's the most common tree around my area.
Don't want to derail this cool thread so will maybe start another one to discuss further.
One question though,how easy is it to do a water change with that volume of leaf in the tank? I imagine when you refill it would,stir up quite a mess.
Your not derailing the thread,it's all relevant . There are many aspects I would have liked to have included but felt the thread would get to long.
No problems with water changes.
I re fill my tank with a hose pipe and clamp the hose so the water entering the tank sprays across the surface . I also turn the flow down so it's not to aggressive .
If you are refilling with buckets,just lay an old plate or dish on the bottom and pour in the water above the plate. The water is dispersed and the substrate is less effected.
A little movement is fine. A leaf littered substrate is an ever changing substrate. It makes thing a little more interesting.
It's a weird tree, the oil is poisonous but you also get small amounts added to cough medicine and things like that. Also it's used for weatherproofing out door furniture etc.
I travel in the country for work a lot and the 2 things that always tempt me are the really old dead weathered trees I see a lot of, they are almost white they are so old and long dead, the other is the Murray river (you may be familiar with the murray cod?) it's full of all sorts of submerged branches and during summer when the water is low you see some nice tangled roots as well. I always wonder if it would be ok as it has been underwater for so long. There's the small issue of it not being legal in certain areas to take wood from either the gound or water so have to check first.
Also I wouldn't be too concerned about making the thread to long, everyone is digging it and are truly interested in what you have written so far. I am sure anything else you add will be well received.
I travel in the country for work a lot and the 2 things that always tempt me are the really old dead weathered trees I see a lot of, they are almost white they are so old and long dead, the other is the Murray river (you may be familiar with the murray cod?) it's full of all sorts of submerged branches and during summer when the water is low you see some nice tangled roots as well. I always wonder if it would be ok as it has been underwater for so long. There's the small issue of it not being legal in certain areas to take wood from either the gound or water so have to check first.
Also I wouldn't be too concerned about making the thread to long, everyone is digging it and are truly interested in what you have written so far. I am sure anything else you add will be well received.
Great thread and those tanks!!! Just can't get enough of looking at em. You have the touch of fresh water Poseidon in you 
Cheers mate,glad you like it.Great thread and those tanks!!! Just can't get enough of looking at em. You have the touch of fresh water Poseidon in you
Thanks , that's nice of you to say.
I think if those branches are really old dead and dried out ,they would more than likely be ok.
Don't take my word for it though. That's your risk.
I must admit I have chanced pieces of unknown origin in the past and never had an issue but I'm definitely not recommending it.
