Oblivion

Alright. I know FOR SURE that my tank has been FULLY cycled. Everything is stable. Everything is good. I just went to my LFS and bought some rocks and a chunk of driftwood. Good news, the driftwood already sinks! I just have to soak it for a over a week and get those tannins out. I'm taking out all of my fake decors and putting them in. I'm planning to make a bunch of little caves for when I get Corys. They are either two or more rocks stacked to make a little cave like so |\. One stands up, and the other leans on it. I am going to do that on both sides of my tank and have the driftwood as the centerpiece.

I also want to make some rock terraces but I need ideas? Anyone have pics of good terraces that I could maybe copy? I can make mini ones of those behind the driftwood.

I also plan to get live plants, but I need to get a better bulb. Any comments on which bulb to get for a freshwater tank? I'm sooo excited to do this so I just had to tell y'all =).

Tazmiche

hey good news!!! i have no experience with natural rock or driftwood BUT have a tank waiting to be set up so GOOD LUCK with yours and post results so i can learn!!!

rileyrk190

I know you want a rock terrace,so this might not answer your question, i just thought i'd share what i did. I think i saw a thread on here about it so i went to lowes and bought some lava rocks for a grill and some aquarium silicone. I was able to make nice looking rocks for under ten dollars ( just be careful with the silicone, it turns white after a while so don't let any show). Oddly enough and much to my surprise, lowes didn't sell any slate.

The one thread " The angel garden" i think its called had a very nice terrace made with rock.

≈ D ≈

Wolfgang8810 made a nice rock terrace - click here

Hope this helps and be sure to take some pics to show us your handiwork

Oblivion

Thanks alot, HarleyMan! That was really helpful.
I already soaked my piece of driftwood for about a day in hot water. It has barely change the color of the water. It was the color of a very light light clear brown. Almost not noticeable. Does this mean it does not have alot of tannins or does it take really a week or more to get all the brown out? 'Cause so far, it looks fine to put in, but I'm going to wait for y'alls opinion. And back to my first question, which bulbs would be good for plants? I saw a bulb for a Tropical Reef I believe, and it looked nice.

MagpieTear

If the driftwood will fit in a pot, boiling it two or three times for 30 minutes of a roiling boil each will remove the tannins quite well, and quickly. Should kill most of the hidden ickies in it as well. Just don't let the spouse/parental unit/those in charge of the pots see. Non-Fish people just don't get it...

Oblivion

LOL, my parents won't care. But seriously, the color of the water in the driftwood has barely changed, and it's been in around 120 or so degree water...maybe hotter. I don't know.

MissMTS

The same thing happened to me with my driftwood. I left it in for about 3 days anyways and then added it to my tank. Everything is fine. IMO you should be okay to add yours in.

Oblivion

I'll let it wait a few more days then add it to be safe =)

Coryd55

Sounds like a good idea. I did mine for about 3 days and the water was almost perfectly clear so I added it to the tank. It still had some tannins in it though so the water was slightly brownish. It went away after a few water changes though, so no biggie.

Oblivion

Alright, cool! Any ideas on the plants to get? I want some good background plants. I've been hearing some Watersprite and some other stuff I believe from Kevin awhile back. But I am in need of upgrading my bulb. What bulb should I get and what plants would thrive with it? I plan to have some rock caves on the sides of my tank with the driftwood as the center piece. I might prop it up on a rock or kinda burrow under it so the Corys or Pleco can hang out. Maybe put a little sand under the driftwood or the rock caves so they Corys can play in as y'all have suggested. I also plan to put the plants around the driftwood and around the tank with a bubblewand behind the driftwood for a finishing effect.

MissMTS

I like the amazon sword plants that I have in the back of my tank with my driftwood. They are really pretty when they get big and cover a lot of the empty space. Just an idea...

Oblivion

Alright, I got most of the tannins out and put it in my tank. Kinda crowded right now, in a sense as it is not appealing, but I will fix it when I get more stuff.
Does anyone know anything about bulbs and which brands are be good?

jsalemi

I got a pack of aponogeton bulbs at WallMart, and all but one took root and developed quite nicely. Others here have had less success with them. But for $2, it's worth a shot I guess.

I've also seen bulb packs at PetSmart/Co that were similar.

≈ D ≈

Glad to have helped but Wolfgang deserves the credit. As for your bulb question, and I'm sorry I didn't address it previously, I am going to assume you are after a light bulb recommendation as oppossed to a plant bulb one and I'm also going to assume you are replacing a fluorescent bulb. If that is the case then I recommend you choose from the following:

• Coralife Nutri Grow Plant Lamp
• Zoo Med Flora Sun Fluorescent Bulbs
• Flora-Glo Fluorescent Bulbs
• Zoo Med Ultra Sun Trichromatic Fluorescent Bulbs

My personal choice would be the 2nd one Again, I hope this helps.

Oblivion

That's what I was looking at =)
Can you tell me about some good plants?

≈ D ≈

That's a tough one. I'm keeping in mind your current stock and what you want to add so here are what I like, never had problems with, have used before, along with where I placed them:

• Cabomba Carolina (rear middle of tank)
• Amazon Swords (rear sides of tank)
• Rotala - the red kind (sides and middle of tank)
• Microsword (front and front sides of tank)

You can also try:

• Vallisneria
• Java Fern
• Anacharis
• Anubias nana
• Anubias barteri round leaf
• Indian Red Sword

If you can use 2 x flourescent lights, that would also help with plant growth but 1 x Zoo Med Flora Sun won't hurt; when I used live plants I never had more than 1 light and those in my list did fine, especially the Cabomba - and Cabomba is my 2nd favourite plant; the 1st being Cabomba furcata

Oblivion

Alright! Here's your thanks now =)
I'll research into those!