# Aquascaping resources driftwood to rocks



## ryuken168 (Feb 5, 2004)

Important part of my aquascape design that shapes my creation is driftwood and rocks.
I'm always keep an eye out for a nice driftwood or rock collection.
I search takes me to only LFS and wholeslaes around the NYC area at this time.
I have not comb the beaches or gone to any country side to find natural resources yet.
So anyone know of any good resources like there backyard to garden centers to find the prefect piece.


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

Good topic. Living in a city I have a hard time finding materials. I really like aquariumdriftwood.com. After seeing what Phil had done with the driftwood he received, I decided to give them a try,

http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?q=Y&a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=1306023812&m=6426009133&p=3

They collect mangrove wood, which from what I have read is what Amano uses in his tanks.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Ebay always has some nice piecies, but You already know taht Ken  (saw the two you recently got....and that seller has lots of really nice stuff as of late).


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## toshi (Jan 29, 2004)

I pillage dark, basaltic rock from the shoreline here in San Francisco. I like the appearance of it and the hike back to the car offers a nice workout. :shock:


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

Yeah I was going to ask you about that Erik. I really liked the look of the rocks in your tank. Whats the name of the beach you got the rocks at?


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## toshi (Jan 29, 2004)

Hey Greg!

I gather them at North Baker Beach. The views are stunning - you can see the GG bridge close by on your right, and Sausalito straight ahead. Some of the rock formations are gorgeous.

It's a bit of work to get to (rather steep trail) and sometimes you'll run into a flock of nude sunbathers during the warmer months. Just gather your goods and smile courteously when they give you funny looks. The things we do for our aquariums.


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## ryuken168 (Feb 5, 2004)

IUnknown said:


> They collect mangrove wood, which from what I have read is what Amano uses in his tanks.


Wow, I didn't know Amano use mangrove wood. After seeing Phil's tank, I also email aquariumdriftwood.com, but never got a reply back. I wanted to do 2 tanks like that for a restaurant. I ended up using Malaysian driftwood that I picked out from a wholesaler. That is the 2 x 55gal you see in the gallery.
The only problem I have with mail order, is I don't know what I'm buying until I receive it.



Gomer said:


> Ebay always has some nice piecies, but You already know taht Ken  (saw the two you recently got....and that seller has lots of really nice stuff as of late).


ha.ha.ha...lol..thanks for not outbidding me on eBay. The last two pieces I have are very nice. They are all sitting in a box in my basement waiting for future projects. Let me go take some pictures and post it here along with my rock collection.

I'm always looking for larger pieces for 125+ gal tanks. So far I only saw two nice pieces. One I was outbid and the other one is too far away. 
Does anyone live between Canton, Ohio and Youngstown, PA.
I was thinking about driving 6 hours each way from NYC to pick up this driftwood. But I don't trust my car, but I aways wanted to visit NFL hall of Fame.
Check it out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2336784576&category=20510

Every driftwood and rocks are one of a kind, so I'm aways searching for that prefect piece, no matter how far or how much.

Erik, do you have pictures of the basaltic rock, love to see how they look in a aquascape setting.

Later
Ken


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## toshi (Jan 29, 2004)

Hey Ken, I used them in this tank:


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

> The only problem I have with mail order, is I don't know what I'm buying until I receive it.


Yeah, that is a problem. Her centerpieces are usually all pretty usable somehow. I think you would be satisfied. I received one shipment that I thought I had made a mistake with my choices. It's hard to order the right size wood on her site without seeing it. I left the wood in a hospital tank thinking it was worthless. Eventually I really liked the way it was positioned in the tank, naturally and by accident. So I turned it into an aquascape. I guess you learn by mistake and practice. Up until then I had been forcing the location of the driftwood. The other thing I like about her driftwood is that it comes shipped wet. It is guaranteed to sink unless you let it dry out.


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## ryuken168 (Feb 5, 2004)

I remember this tank. wow the onyx gravel and the rocks go nicely.
This was one of the tank style I like a lot and still remember.
I have an idea for a tank and those rock would be fit in nicely. Let me see if I can find something like thoses rocks near me.
thanks for the picture Erik.

Back to the topic and a new outlook. Due to the internet and forums like APC we as aquascaper should not be limited to what the LFS can provide us. Members of this site please show and tell on what natural resources that you use in your design. This way we all can expand our knowledge and improve our design palette. 
USA is a vast nation with a lot of natural resources, so lets take advantage of this and help each other out.
Ken


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Hey Ken, that monster sure is a beauty!!! a once in a lifetime find if you ask me. Never see things that big!!! ..and being that it is so huge, the bidding pool should stay small. Good luck with it! Make a mini vacation on picking it up 
Did you see her other monster piece? 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20510&item=2344165570


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## Wheeler (Feb 8, 2004)

ryuken168 said:


> I remember this tank. wow the onyx gravel and the rocks go nicely.
> This was one of the tank style I like a lot and still remember.
> I have an idea for a tank and those rock would be fit in nicely. Let me see if I can find something like thoses rocks near me.
> thanks for the picture Erik.


Ken, You'll not find rocks like that on this coast. The volcanic rocks on this side of the country will be granite, gneiss, or similar. Basalt, obsidian, and tuff are formed by different types of magma eruption/cooling than we had here. We have good stuff, but not flat black or dark grey like basalt.... a pity, really.

You may be able to find some nice black rocks (usually a schist-- these are metamorphosed sedimentary rocks), but they will be high in mica (both main varieties) and therefore have a striated, metallic appearance. Nice, but not the same. I find tons of the stuff in a local creek. I still haven't used it much in aquariums.

The vast majority of volcanic rock to be found around here is going to be granite. In my area, there is a special deposit of gneiss known as blue rock which I use and like very much. You might find some of that in a drainage ditch near you.

There is granite to be found which is high in hornblende (black crystals) and biotite (the darker mica) crystals and is much darker than run-of-the-mill granite. It is commonly used as counter top material. I don't know where this particular variety is quarried.

Anywho-- hope this helps...


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## ryuken168 (Feb 5, 2004)

*Thanks for the info.*

Hi John thanks for the info. 
I know I will not find these rocks in the east coast by looking around woods or by the beach.
One resouce that I use are garden centers, landscaping centers and mason supplies. You'll find a lot of volcanic rocks and other rocks used in landscaping. They also carry the rocks the LFS sells for less than half the price.

John I've seen the tank of gneiss blue rock a while back on the other site. Can you please post a picture here also to share with our members to give them a idea.

Thanks
Ken


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## Ptahkeem (Feb 16, 2004)

Hey Erik
where did you find driftwood like the one in the picture you posted? Its very nice.


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## toshi (Jan 29, 2004)

That rock looks quite nice, John.  

Ptahkeem: The wood is fallen pacific madrone collected locally.


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## Ptahkeem (Feb 16, 2004)

Hey John
no can see the pics. 

Erik
do you know if that wood grows down the coast into san diego?


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## ryuken168 (Feb 5, 2004)

*Link don't work.*

Hi John,
Your pictures are not showing up, either try attaching it to APC or try this site. www.photobucket.com
Pretty good free picture hosting site.
Thanks for your time John.

Ken


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## toshi (Jan 29, 2004)

I'm not sure. It's usually listed as occurring in NorCal up to Canada, but there are some sites that indicate it as established down to SoCal.


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## Wheeler (Feb 8, 2004)

I can see the pics just fine. I remote linked them from a Yahoo group album. Will that affect viewability if I'm not logged on to Yahoo?

Anyway, I've got to get some web space...


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## Wheeler (Feb 8, 2004)

OK...If I'm logged off Yahoo, the pics disappear. Lemme find some web space, and I'll put them back.

Trying to put pics on this site's album is like trying to pull teeth, so I'll repost later.


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## Wheeler (Feb 8, 2004)

OK, here we go-- Thanks for the photobucket link, Ken.

First is Blue Rock with plain coarse sand:










Here's Blue rock wetted with Eco-Complete:










I didn't spend a whole lot of time on composition of these photos-- They're mostly for journal purposes, but this gives an idea about blue gneiss. A local gem for 'scaping.


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## Steve Pituch (Jan 25, 2004)

Very nice rocks John. It reminds me when I used to live in NJ a long time ago. I think I remember seeing some (rocks). Its been so long. Down here in South Texas we just have clay mud. It sort of makes me home sick.

However there must be some mesquite or mangrove wood floating around here somewhere. I've got to keep my eyes out for it.

Steve Pituch


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

Living in Florida i am lucky that mangrove wood is everywhere. There is a shop here locally called Driftwood Decor. I can give any of you the phone number if you want to arrange to have huge peices shipped to you. They have a yard completely full of mangrove, cypress, and some other wood i can't remember. All sizes and shapes. I find it hard to find anything that would fit a tank smaller than 50 gallons, but you could always break the peice or something. It would probably be very expensive, two branchy peices for my 50 gallon cost me $20. Much cheaper than my LFS though. A very large peice could be in the hundreds easily. PM me if you want the number i dont get the email reminders at the house i am at right now.


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## Pigheaddd (Feb 27, 2004)

toshi said:


> Hey Ken, I used them in this tank:


Erik,

good job man. tank looks very good!!!

Tim


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