Red1313

Ok so in a short while I'll be back to schol again and I'm planning to have a few fish running through QT. In my 32 gal (which I'll FINALLY get to stock) I'd like to get everything ready aquascape wise so that by the time that the tiger barbs are done with QT I can catch my RTS put him in time-out, redo the aquascape, add the new fish then add him back in again.
The catch is going to be the aquascape. I've finally sort of decided what I'd like to do but I'm not really sure the best way to go about this (on a budget) What I'd like is to give the tank a sort of eroded river bank apperence. To this end I've envisioned a dark back ground (black or brown likely a combination to give a soily texture to it) and a series of "roots" along the back of the glass from top to bottom with a lot of plants (Onion is the main one) added in between. The roots would span from top to bottom of the tank along the back wall allowing for the fish to swim amoungst them (trough over around). However I'm not sure how to go about doing this. driftwood from the LFS is pricey but there isn't alot of hardwood in my area. Any idea's? Input?
Thanks guys.

navyscuba

I got some from ebay and a guy that is from Niagara falls. I got a package of 25 pieces for like $18 shipped. You can check there for a start.

Red1313

Thanks Navy.

navyscuba

It's really good and pressure washed with not chemicals and with in 2 days I had about 4 already sunk on the pool. haha

hop2jr

Hey Red
Just to let you know driftwood softens and breaks down over time/years but in doing so it lowers pH in the water. With alot of driftwood you will need to add crushed coral with the gravel to balance it out for fish that like PH over 6.

Red1313

They're softwater fish and I've got a really really really high kh and GH in my water natrually so I'm not really worried but thanks for the reminder. I'll keep and eye on it.

Red1313

ok so i have my driftwood (images coming) and it's been "soaking" for about 2 weeks now. Keep in mind I have it in a tub with the lid down and I haven't checked it since I put it in there... yeah that was nasty when I opened it. Remember folks: a piece of wood absorbs what it was floating in and when you put it in nice clean water, all that nasty stuff comes back out. Rank let me tell you. so I'm now scrubbing each piece clean in the bathtub and then I'll put them in fresh water. By the time I'm done that the stores should be open and I'll be off to buy a massive supply of carbon. I'm gonna set some sort of "filter" up for this stuff and hope the carbon will do it's job and keep that smell down...

hop2jr

If you boil the driftwood it will help leech out the bad stuff. I boiled all my pieces for about 4hr each then soaked for a week with 2 water changes. Good luck looking forward to the pic's.

akamel

if you live close to a lake I would go there and look for some --its free !!