# ...now...what am I going to do with all this DRIFTWOOD!!!



## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

=P~ =P~ =P~ =P~

Here is my latest cache of scaping material ...a WHOLE BUNCH of wood. For those who do not recognize it, it is old and well aged manzanita. It is quite dense, but does float. I have use it in the past, and over time it does sink on its own. Even so, it isn't too hard to hold down with some rockwork given its density.

I'll be storing these underwater in a big rubermaid bin until I am ready to use them


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## TomE (Jul 24, 2004)

Nice, where did you get them?


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

I'll take picture #2. Thanks.


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

They remind me of those "antlers" the Grinch tied on Max's head. A little bit sawn-off, but nice, none-the-less.

Andrew Cribb


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Nice pieces! Where'd you get them?


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## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

You tease!! Are you selling or not?  Seriously, if you are, do you have any pieces that would fit well in a 10 gallon with mostly low growing plants?

Thx
MantisX
Otis


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

not selling at all. But I will be posting in a little bit the contact information if you want to get this. ALL of that cost me $67 shipped


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## RoseHawke (Jan 4, 2005)

I may be wrong here, but isn't that what I'm used to seeing in parrot/bird cages?


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

yup  It is often used with bird perches and jewlery displays (manzinita trees).


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Gomer said:


> not selling at all. But I will be posting in a little bit the contact information if you want to get this. ALL of that cost me $67 shipped


OK, Where? Where?


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

Gomer said:


> yup  It is often used with bird perches and jewlery displays (manzinita trees).


Manzanita wood, ah, thanks, you can keep #2 then.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

and the source is .....

.... www.manzanita.com LOL

..yup..that simple. They are sorta local to me


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

It looks as if the wood is relatively new, but sandblasted to remove the outer bark/skin and make it look a little older. "Stressed wood." I wonder if it is going to "leak" anything into the aquarium water eventually. What do you think?

Andrew Cribb


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

All the wood I have is WELL aged and sandblasted prior to shipment. But you are correct. if you dont ask specifically, you might end up with "greenish" wood that is a 3-6 months old.


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

SCMurphy said:


> Manzanita wood, ah, thanks, you can keep #2 then.


What do you mean by that?

And would it be safe to use the natural red wood?


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Sean meant (very indirectly LOL) that I confirmed the source he found on his own and would get some him self (possibly). I think I was a bit vague and might have miss lead some as if I was selling those various lots LOL.


the problem with "red" is that it means that the wood is a wee bit "green" for our needs. As manzanita ages, the red bark dries, curls and gets much less red.

..and that also means lots of floaties.


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

Gomer said:


> Sean meant (very indirectly LOL)


Yes, I was joking. I never figured that they were for sale, I just thought it was unkind to troll like that. ( [-X Bad Gomer :axe: ) 
I'll try to use more winks and smiles in the future. [smilie=r:


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Yes...I am an evil bastage and deserve to be ....umm..I better not start digging my own grave LOL.



I was just happy when that box of wood came in and had to share given how there is always an issue with finding good driftwood instead of those lumps you typicaly get at the LFS.


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

I'm starting to think we should start calling it 'scapewood' since it isn't supposed to drift when we use it. ;-)


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

well...this wood would initially drift LOL...so how about this wood in use be called "once potetially drifting scapewood" ?


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## christanto (Dec 23, 2004)

interesting pieces Gomer! if you don't mind, could you post pictures of your tank with this type of wood inside?


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

christanto said:


> interesting pieces Gomer! if you don't mind, could you post pictures of your tank with this type of wood inside?


These pieces are going to be used in a tank that will go up in about a month or so. I am having a tank and stand built to my specs..and then I'll need to find a new home for one of my current tanks LOL.


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## Wheeler (Feb 8, 2004)

Just checked out the site. They're kinda local for me too. Tempting... A couple hours for all the cheap driftwood that I can manage.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

For those taking note, I have had the wood soaking in the backyard in a closed large rubbermaid (to keep the bugs out). I did dump a full bottle of H2O2 to kill off any strange ness (like wood fungus or any bugs that might be hitchikers). I'm on week 4 and ALL of the wood now sink on their own


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## Joefish (Mar 5, 2005)

I would not use that in a aquarium.. it will still rot even if you soak it for a year.. it is not ment for water conditions.. studys have ben done many times and it all ends up the same..


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Please point me to such studies.

ALL wood rots in time. This wood is a hard wood and is not going to mush like softwoods to.. I have it in other tanks with no issies. The soaking has NOTHING to do with rotting, but rather to get it to sink.


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## Joefish (Mar 5, 2005)

Just do a search on this wood on cichlid-forum.com 

Nobody has had luck with it as it will rot.. yes all driftwood will rot, but this is not ment for water and will grow a fungus over and over again.. 

IMO if you want driftwood for your aquarium buy driftwood not vineroot.. stay away from reptile wood.. i have ben keeping driftwood in my tanks for over 15 years and i know what will work and what wont.. 

There has ben articles on driftwood on CF.. i hope it can help you along your way.. if your looking for a more naturel wood go with savana or african or even malaision "spelled wrong" 

but like anything if you like it and wana try it go for it.. but also like anything you get what you pay for.. good luck.... 

ps all the wood i listed sinks right away.. even when dry.. 


Joe


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

I did a search as you said and the ONLY thread on it was
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=34805&highlight=manzanita
I also searched the articles and got "Sorry, no matches were found containing *manzanita."
*I then searched for just "wood" and the only drifwood article I found had NO mention of manzanita. Am I missing something?

You said "Vine root"...I think you might be mistaken. I am using Manzanita which is a very hard wood....not grape vine wood and not a root.


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## Joefish (Mar 5, 2005)

It is hard to tell just by looking at a pic but they do look the same.. however you could be right .. but i have never seen anyone use either in a aquarium and had success with it... throw it in a tank and lets see how it does.. 

If you have success with it then others may vier that way.. 

Also if it is for just decor then i cant see a problem with it.. but if its for plecos they may not like it compared to savana root.. 

Good luck.. 


Joe


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Savana root???? Can you please explain?


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## Joefish (Mar 5, 2005)

Savana root is almost the same as African root but its notchy on one side as to where african root is smooth.. here is a link showing the african..

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/driftwood.php


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Joefish,

Just to let you know, manzanita is widely used for aquascaping as far as I know. Erik Leung's 29g was hardscaped with self-collected manzanita driftwood if I remember correctly:










The problem with African/Mopani and Malaysian driftwood is that they are usually rather featureless/ugly blocks of wood. Perhaps nice for a cichlid tank, but for a planted tank, elegantly notched and thin branches are necessary for a successful driftwood display. Please check out our Aquascaper in focus gallery in the photo album as well as browse through other sites littered with aquascape photos to see:

www.adaeurope.com
www.adana.co.kr
showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org

Hope this helps,

Carlos


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## Joefish (Mar 5, 2005)

Looks like someone went out to the back yard and picked up sticks off there lawn.. ya im sure just for a planted ONLY tank it will be fine.. but for plecos.. its useless.. only for the eye.. i have all Malaysian driftwood in my 240gal setup.. and i dont find it to be blocky at all.. i think it gives a nice apperence to the tank.. but like anything.. to each his/her own.. 


Joe ;-)


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Baaahhhh. Enough of this. This is certainly becomming a "to each their own" discussion and its straying way to far form the original intent of Gomer's post. 

Facts are, Manzanita looks nice, if you like that sort of thing, and it is aquarium safe but offers no good qualities for plecos to chew on. Big, wood chewin' plecos are not that common in our heavily planted, but not necessarily plant ONLY tanks.


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## MrHarris (Mar 19, 2005)

The manzanita looks nice, I hope it does well and doesn't rot. I have malaysian driftwood in my 55gal community tank. It's not blocky, it's very intricate but doesn't have any thin branches like the manzanita. Both look good IMO.


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## fish7days (Jul 30, 2005)

I pikked up sum stiks off my bak lawn and put em throo a spell checker, and now they look pretty nice in my planted tank.


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## JaySilverman (Jun 19, 2005)

This is a planted tank forum. Not a cichlid forum. Manzanita is used alot in aquascaping and lasts a long time. Its perfectly fine.

Nice pieces Gomer. I'm jealous.


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## MoonFish (Feb 12, 2006)

Has anyone else seen the TV shows where they pull up some log that has been in the river for 200 years and cut it up for lumber? That is cool.


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## GraFFix (Feb 24, 2005)

Interesting wood...I was looking at their website and noticed those display trees. It got me thinking about a scape...you really could make it look like a tree with some small moss then use some HC or glosso on the bottom for rolling type hills. I think it would look really cool. 
I might have to pick up a display tree or 2 and experiment. thanks for the link

Ohh and MoonFish, Yes Ive seen the show. I think it was Dirty Jobs that it was on. They were selling that wood at a premium too.


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