Tree stumps!

[grantbudd74]

Ok so today I went for a walk and came across 2 large tree stumps out of the ground that have been cut a long time ago. On one the main stump is full of holes (spiders etc!!! yuck!) and quite dead looking. The other is very similar and rotted in places. They are around 20" high and spread around 2-3 feet wide.

I have a 10footer coming soon :-)

I spent 5 hours cleaning these up exposing the large root system buy removing dirt and bark at the base. Very hard work mind you!

They look great but I have a question, I am going for a natural look and want to know:

Stand it up with roots down?
Lay it down on a good side
Reverse it so the roots stand up

Also do you ever need to do anything with wood before you use it in your tank? I have used bog wood before and this leaches tannin bad! Any poisons I should be on the lookout for? I plan to soak in the bath for a week. Should I use a light bleach solution?

Ii will post photos tomorrow as its dark

Thanks

Grant

[blkg35]

Would love to see some pics of the wood and the tank before figuring out how to aquascape it. Also, what I do with driftwood before placing it in my tank is soaking it for a month then pouring boiling water on it 3 times. The wood I use is too large to directly boil in a pot. This has worked for me but I do buy aquarium wood which IMO is safer than wood found in rivers.
I've never tried bleach solution on wood but have done it on tanks. Good luck and post some pics of the wood when you get a chance....:D

[Altum Nut]

Hey Grant,

I would keep it out on a hard surface like concrete and let the sun do it's wonders. Whatever bugs or such that may be inside if any will die off.

...Ralph

[pastry]

wait for the new tank, put the trunks in the new tank (outside the house). fill up the new tank with 10% bleach. fill up the rest with water (garden hose). let it sit for 24 hours. drain the tank (try to put the bleach/water some where other than on lawn... I killed a good section of my grass... oops). repeat the same thing for 24 hours. drain again. fill up with plain water. drain the next day. repeat. drain and now you're ready to rock & roll. works on the sand i took from the beach as well.

put the tank where you want it, add substrate if you want, put your trunks in the way you want, and even if you don't want to use a hang on filter, just use one for about a week WITH CARBON. Also add PRIME. After a week do your chemistry and then carry on with your cycle the way you would any other time. I rushed it a little and got the liquid solution, plants, and cheap fish (school of tetras) after a week to see how they would do. they did well and I went ahead and added my discus (that's a "no-no" but I tend to break rules... they're all still alive.). I've had my local tree trunks from a lake around here, cured it the way stated, and haven't lost a single discus (or have had water quality problems).

if anyone has a difference of opinions, that's great, please share, but the above was easy and worked for me (besides killing some grass!)

[Discus master]

wait for the new tank, put the trunks in the new tank (outside the house). fill up the new tank with 10% bleach. fill up the rest with water (garden hose). let it sit for 24 hours. drain the tank (try to put the bleach/water some where other than on lawn... I killed a good section of my grass... oops). repeat the same thing for 24 hours. drain again. fill up with plain water. drain the next day. repeat. drain and now you're ready to rock & roll. works on the sand i took from the beach as well.

put the tank where you want it, add substrate if you want, put your trunks in the way you want, and even if you don't want to use a hang on filter, just use one for about a week WITH CARBON. Also add PRIME. After a week do your chemistry and then carry on with your cycle the way you would any other time. I rushed it a little and got the liquid solution, plants, and cheap fish (school of tetras) after a week to see how they would do. they did well and I went ahead and added my discus (that's a "no-no" but I tend to break rules... they're all still alive.). I've had my local tree trunks from a lake around here, cured it the way stated, and haven't lost a single discus (or have had water quality problems).

if anyone has a difference of opinions, that's great, please share, but the above was easy and worked for me (besides killing some grass!)

I got some branches that were dead near the lake where I live I think it was drift wood can't be 100% sure no sap or anything like that I basically did what you did but used a large garbage can my tank was already set up I did this recently. I then took the branches and used a dermal tool and sanded the sharp edges down with it and I took some branches off to open it up. I tied some of them togethr draped some across the middle brace of my 55 gallon and another bunch in the one corner spooked the discus for a day or two now there are swiming thru them like they were always there and I even see them like pecking at the wood from time to time like there eating off of it. Not sure what they could be eating some alge already? don't know but all is good so far and I used the prime as well still do.

[pastry]

yep, that's what I would have done (used trash cans) but my tank is 150 gallon and the wood i picked out from a lake nearby had deminsions that were much larger/wider than the trash can. i think the advantage i had at the time since i didn't have the tank set up yet (it was bare & empty in the backyard) was that I could fit those pieces of wood in there the way i wanted to ahead of time and then cut/saw off any little peices that did not already fit into the tank. soooo... by doing this, i ensured the shape, positioning, and fit of the wood ahead of time. Also, i could fit each and every entire piece i wanted in the tank, all at once, and get them sterilized.

my driftwood now has nice (within reason) fluffy algae on some limbs that actually looks really great. i'll try to remember to take some pics.

[Discus master]

yep, that's what I would have done (used trash cans) but my tank is 150 gallon and the wood i picked out from a lake nearby had deminsions that were much larger/wider than the trash can. i think the advantage i had at the time since i didn't have the tank set up yet (it was bare & empty in the backyard) was that I could fit those pieces of wood in there the way i wanted to ahead of time and then cut/saw off any little peices that did not already fit into the tank. soooo... by doing this, i ensured the shape, positioning, and fit of the wood ahead of time. Also, i could fit each and every entire piece i wanted in the tank, all at once, and get them sterilized.

my driftwood now has nice (within reason) fluffy algae on some limbs that actually looks really great. i'll try to remember to take some pics.

yup do that iam sooting for the same look with mine as well

[pastry]

here you go... really can't show how neat the algae on the wood is. I'm also trying some moss i just got but i don't think it'll make it because the place i ordered it from did a shatty job packaging. i keep trying new plants but i don't have a co2 system. val., swords, crypts, and some others do remarkable without one though.
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f150.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f152.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f151.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f124.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f126.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f129.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/discus/cmp_gt_f148.jpg

[pastry]

old pics... not long after first set up
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige101.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige100.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige089.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige095.jpg

[Discus master]

old pics... not long after first set up
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige101.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige100.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige089.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz81/eldog380/AmyPat-fish-MichelePaige095.jpg

I really like this I am shooting for this also but I am having less greenery just enough to accent it all out, I have java moss on some driftwood now and some java fern on another pice to hide my two heaters and to accent it all out I would like to have a taller plant in the back left to hide my prefilter sponge and intake for my canister filter but I do not know what to buy as these plants I got on Friday are litery my first bought water plants ever so i need something ow low maintenace and easy to care for much like the java moss and fern any sugerstions I can give you specks of my tank lights and water chem if you like?

[pastry]

honestly, look at the sword i have in the left hand corner. look at my older pics (which i put after the recent ones). see the size of it? it's HUUUUGE now and has babies. i don't have a co2 system. several plants are very easy to keep in a discus tank without co2. high temps usually do a lot of plants in but swords, crypts, anubias, java fern, and many bulb-types do very well. the val does great as well. a lot of taller, bushy plants... not so well for me so far but i keep trying. i have 3 swords but the one in the left gets full light and is right next to the out flow of my h.o.b. filter (which i need a second for my tank because the hob filter is only rated for up to 80 gallons... in reality, filters should take into account the amount of fish you have as well). i have sand from the beach also... i don't use any fertilizers. i just buy them from the store, rinse them, and put those suckers in. not the best idea (supposedly you should quarantine plants too but i don't... only fish for me... which is where i had my first successful discus pair breed and raise their little ones!). i do know one thing from the past: a buddy a long time ago had well water. this well water had a high iron content. i've never seen plants and fish SO BIG that they all grew out the tank. he had some of my discus and they dwarfed mine. i gave him an amazon sword that grew so fast and big that it PUSHED THE LID OPEN. crazy crazy crazy. his neons were HUUUUGE. his rams were larger than bolivian rams. some day i need to do a well and pray for a high iron content :D