Goldie Posted July 20, 2002 Report Share Posted July 20, 2002 oh my having been a browser for 9 months I now take the plunge to say Hi to you all. I began with a small 1 gallon tank and thanks to the help of Alex from the Marlbourgh Aquarium Club (via the internet) I set up a larger tank around 67 litres and then 'went into debt' and bought a 160 litres tank. The gallon tank is now hospital/quarantine tank and the 67L houses 2 angels; 6 neon tetra; 1 peppered catfish; 2 bronze catfish & 2 clown loaches. The 160 litres houses 5 discus (2 adult & 3 junior); 2 bristlenose catfish & 4 clown loaches. Thoroughly hooked on fish I am now planning for a large tank and wonder how I can get hubby to re pile the floor to take the weight. Or should we rebuild NOW LOL. I have been enjoying meeting ya'all and reading all fishy comments. Thanks also to Caryl for her support and encouragement and the wonderful wood she supplied for my tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 20, 2002 Report Share Posted July 20, 2002 You are welcome GoldieNZ. For those interested, the wood she refers to is beautiful, waterlogged, native rimu picked up off the beach at Hokitika I have a bath of interesting rimu bits soaking outside. It looks great in a tank and is often a lovely dark red colour. Others are a deep brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 Do you have trouble with the dark colour coming out of the wood?? I once had some nice dark driftwood which I soaked for several months. It discoloured my water. I even tried boiling it to make it stop turning my water brown and that didn't help... any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 Some wood will do this as it is the natural tannins coming out. They are not harmful. Somewhere else in these forums is a big discussion about it (not sure where at the moment). The only cure, unless you totally seal the wood with sealant - which makes it no good for the bristlenoses to browse on, is to keep doing regular water changes until the tannins stop leaching. This can take many many months! I have seen a tank set up with wood to look like roots, with angelfish in it. The water was a sort of a weak tea colour and it looked great! I have never had any wood leach tannins but that was more good luck than anything. Either that or rimu doesn't leach tannins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted July 21, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 8) I had no trouble at all in leaching. Water is as clear as ............water. Caryl had soaked it for ages and when I received the wood I scrubbed it with toothbrush and nailbrush before setting it into the tank. Every other water change I scrub it again if necessary for algae sometimes grows on it - this will be solved I hope when I acquire some more bristlenoses. I have a tree root in the discus tank which is not really a hardwood. I am not sure what it is (hubby suggest it is gorse root!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This I soaked in neighbours goldfish ponds for approximately six months. Then scrubbed before setting in tank. The discus love it and it is amazing to watch them glide in and out of the various roots. The bristlenoses keep it clean as a whistle - no leaching. Maybe I have beginners luck. Good luck with your wood Lizzy - maybe you need to come on wood hunting trip with Marlbourough club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 My having soaked it previously made no difference Goldie, it never leached from the time I picked it up. Why do you scrub it with every water change (unless it is hair algae) as algae adds to the character of the tank. Some of us have tanks chock full of character! :lol: Most fish graze on algae. Perhaps I should take some to the auction in Napier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 Great Avatar Lizzy... your's too Goldie... Welcome to you both. Some nice bits of wood can be found on most beaches above the high tide mark. Just soak a while to get rid of the salt content. Saw a good idea the other day for those that use pipes for their Pleco's and such. Person in question used a piece of plastic (pvc) downpipe, but to camouflage it they spead silicone over it then rolled it in gravel. Same idea could work with some bark chips if they were inert of any toxins. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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