Driftwood Arrangement

[dskidmore]

Some people would argue this belongs on the general discussion topic, but I think all planted tank enthusiasts are aquascapers to some extent.

After Christmas I intend to order a bunch of driftwood for my aquarium. I've picked an affordable supplier. I'd like to order all my driftwood at once to save on shipping, then add it piecemeal to reduce any chemistry change issues.

My tank is a 75 gallon, (48"x18"x20"). If I had a limitless budget, I'd make a huge driftwood snag, with a 3' branching piece in the center, but this is what I found that's economical. Obviously I need to start with a couple of the bigest pieces, I could then do a couple of each size, or a case of the 7-10" ones to attach or scatter as I see fit.

Item# Item Price 12+ Price
TK1501 Malaysian Driftwood, 7-10” $4.20 3.15
TK1502 Malaysian Driftwood, 11-17” $5.35 4.28
TK1503 Malaysian Driftwood, 13-21” $7.30 6.26
TK1504 Malaysian Driftwood, 17-23” $8.48 7.42

Any ideas? I want to keep the order less than $60, and produce a natural looking grouping. I currently have one 8" piece that won't match the new wood.

 

[travis simonson]

I've never used much driftwood before or tried any sort of iwagumi setup, but from reading Jeff Senske's advice it sounds like, ideally, you will want more wood than you will need in order to allow you to pick the pieces that work best together without being forced to use pieces that just don't look right. He says that he buys his wood by the pallet and spends hours finding and arranging just the right pieces. Most of us don't have this luxury so my advice would be to get as much wood as possible, going with more of the smaller pieces because they can be arranged so as to look like a single large piece using the plants as cover, and they will give you more configuration options than just a few large pieces.

 

[workfortheman]

get as much wood as possible, going with more of the smaller pieces because they can be arranged so as to look like a single large piece using the plants as cover, and they will give you more configuration options than just a few large pieces.

Agreed. The more pieces you have the more versatility, especially if they are the same type of wood from the same supplier.

 

[BrianNY]

This is a very interesting question. Most of us don't have the luxury of hand picking the perfect peices of driftwood. I always try and aquascape around what I have on hand. I arrange it in a way that looks pleasing to me. Is this perfect? No, but I somehow get an effect that at least I like.

 

[crazycat]

i am a serial driftwood buyer. any time i see a nice piece at the lfs, i buy it. i've never bought it online, because i like to know exactly what it looks like. when i find a really nice piece i either do a little rearranging in my tank or i save it. you never know when that mts may flare up!

 

[dskidmore]

All the stuff at my LFS is overpriced and screwed onto a piece of slate. If I'm going to get decent sized pieces, I have to mail order. I could go with e-bay and pick pieces, but most of the cool ones are auctions rather than buy it nows, and I'd rather guarrentee that I can get a bunch from the same supplier, so I'm not suck with seperate shipping on each piece.

 

[caribou]

I've had pretty good luck on buying driftwood on Ebay. I think the key is not to over bid (stay with what you can afford) and be patient. If you don't get what you wanted, chances are that something better may come up next week. Always look at shipping costs before bidding. BTW, shipping costs from Canada may not be as high as you think, ask your seller. The best Utah lace rock and driftwood I've ever gotten has come off Ebay, JME. HTH.

 

[dskidmore]

For the few pieces i looked at, shipping to my location was around 8 bucks. not bad for a single shipment, but it adds up if you buy them one at a time.

 

[dskidmore]

I'm finally taking your advice. I found a supplier that wasn't getting too many bids, but had some decent pieces, and picked out all my pieces from the same guy. One of the bids is on "40 pieces of driftwood" so I'll have lots of little bits to sort though. I'm hoping the LFS will take the excess in trade, we shall see.

Could you use driftwood in the QT if you salt cure or boil it in between occupants?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm currently starting a planted tank, with a bit of driftwood myself. I really like the look of driftwood. As for number of pieces, depending on the shapes, I think 1 large and 2 or 3 medium pieces would do good in the 75G. Check my thread in the planted section here called Diary of the 75G planted tank... I got pics with my driftwood, I got 3 pieces in there, and might do 1 or 2 more. I like Malaysian driftwood as well, because it sinks right from the beginning, even when dry.

As for putting in, if you were able to boil all the pieces, I don't see why you couldn't introduce all the pieces from the start, or what you have. I soaked my malaysian driftwood in my 26G for 3 weeks, then put in the tank. No boiling or scrubbing. And no problems. But if you boil them first, it should eliminate the problem of a lot of tannins being released right from the beginning. So I think you could do all at once if you'd like, and have no problems at all.

Could do something like this...

QTY 1 TK1504
QTY 2 TK1503
QTY 3 TK1502

Then if you wanted a few small pieces as well, could add the TK1501's as well, scattered.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, were you planning on some plants? Could do low light, low maintenance plants line java moss, java ferns, etc. They'll do just fine with no addition of fertalizers or upgraded light systems. Just fish for the nitrates...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm finally taking your advice. I found a supplier that wasn't getting too many bids, but had some decent pieces, and picked out all my pieces from the same guy. One of the bids is on "40 pieces of driftwood" so I'll have lots of little bits to sort though. I'm hoping the LFS will take the excess in trade, we shall see.

Could you use driftwood in the QT if you salt cure or boil it in between occupants?

I think boiling and a small scrub with a brush would be all you need for the QT. I don't think it would hurt anything. Also would give the QT fish some cover to relieve some stress as well.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Have you checked out floridadriftwood.com? That's where I got all my recent driftwood from.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Could you use driftwood in the QT if you salt cure or boil it in between occupants?

Yes, you would need to clean it regularly, but keep in mind, some meds may soak into the wood and never really come out.

 

[dskidmore]

Could you use driftwood in the QT if you salt cure or boil it in between occupants?

Yes, you would need to clean it regularly, but keep in mind, some meds may soak into the wood and never really come out.

As long as it's not copper, that would be workable though?

 

[dskidmore]

Also, were you planning on some plants? Could do low light, low maintenance plants line java moss, java ferns, etc. They'll do just fine with no addition of fertalizers or upgraded light systems. Just fish for the nitrates...

I already have some plants, 2 WPG, DIY CO2 and fertilization are in exploration stage. (Have parts, assembling and fine tuning.) I have a really small piece of driftwood. It looked nice in my 10 gallon, but is kinda lost in the 75.

I may "branch out" into more interesting plants later, my first order was whatever was being offered real cheap, mostly bunch plants. My first order was a crunchtime deal to try to absorb ammonia in an overcrowded situation while the fish I was just given were awaiting the 75 gallon in a cramped 20 gallon. Worked like a charm, no ammonia spike in the 20 gallon or in the new 75 gallon. Of course now I have a plant-based biological filtration system instead of a bacterial based one, so I have to be careful if the lights stop working.

 

[dskidmore]

Have you checked out floridadriftwood.com? That's where I got all my recent driftwood from.

Interesting site. Certianly takes care of the uncertianty factor of bidding on e-bay. I did however get a good deal. For my $17.95 (+$23 shipping) I'm getting 42 pieces of driftwood, including two large pices I picked out individulally. I got sniped on one really nice branchy piece, and I have 3 more individual pieces I expect to pay $14-18 (plus shipping) for.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I honestly doubt it would cause a problem at all, if it won't come out in boiling water, it won't come out in the tank (copper is a general no no).. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[dskidmore]

Well, won 5/7 auctions. Total now up to $26.19 + shipping for 40 random pieces + 4 individual pieces. One auction lost, one remaining. I like the way e-bay connects small sellers to small buyers, but I hate the bidding part. I wish more people would use the buy it now option.

 

[dskidmore]

Won the last auction! Shipment will go out Tuesday when the post office opens.

Curing: I've read the article, Driftwood by Scott68TN, and been wondering if the bleach part of the bleach/salt cure is necessary. The salt will kill most anything that lives in fresh water. I like the dark color on some of my pieces and don't want to fade it out with the bleach soak.