# 4ft of wood any good?



## Jay1 (3 Mar 2015)

Is any of these pieces anygood I know nothing about wood but they do make a tank stand out? 
I've got some plants soon and some use cable ties or fishing wire can you show me how you attach the plants on your wood?


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## brownmoth (3 Mar 2015)

Assuming you've got some epiphytic plants, it's simply a matter of securing them to parts of the wood where you see fit. I've had success using one black cable tie over the rhizomes of Microsorum var. "Narrow", green cotton thread around the roots of Anubias, and small amounts of super glue for clumps of moss.
My attempts with fishing wire have been successful too, though I find it needs thorough tying and knotting to stay put. 
A crafty tip when tying onto wood is to exploit small niches or holes, minimalizing the amount of wire/cable/thread on show, also try and avoid damaging the plant, for example, by accidentally crushing leaves.


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## Martin in Holland (4 Mar 2015)

I glue almost anything with a gel super glue except moss, most of the time I just push it into small holes and cracks or use cotton.


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## PARAGUAY (4 Mar 2015)

I cant add anything what Martin and brownmoth have said,but I like your wood looks like a favourite of mine Mopani it often has the grooves indents etc for what is suggested. An interesting other option is to display it reverse with the craggy inner of the wood on view it gives the tank a wild mysterious look


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## Jay1 (4 Mar 2015)

Hey guys just got the plants today have started to spilt up the Anubis thanks for the tips! 
Paraguay Cheers for the name Mopani sounds cool! Yes it does have very textured ridges on the underneath I will post some pictures off the bottom for you I might try and intergrate the thre into a feature and use what I have.
How long should I soak them? As they have been dryed stored for 15 odd years so guessing some tannis will still be there, but have carbon pads I can use to remove it from the water column.
Thanks 
Jay


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## brownmoth (4 Mar 2015)

I have found Mopani to be quite dense compared to some other bogwoods, so it tends to sink and stay put. It does stain water a yellow/brown colour, however, this can be easily cleared with activated carbon and water changes. Took me a few months as I was too impatient to pre-soak the bogwood, but Ideally, I'd soak it for a few weeks in advance to remove some of the tannins.
Which Anubias species did you go for? They're brilliant and co-operative plants.


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## Jay1 (4 Mar 2015)

Sorry Brownmoth I choose these via a picture book ordered them and thats my knowledge about them.
I think I asked my LFS whats a strong plant for wood and rocks.
He said you can't go wrong with Crypts and Anubais.





Great at least I know how long to soak them for three weeks guessing changing the bucket of water every day?
I have smaller bogwood pieces and they suit the scale of the tank these are just huge!


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## Martin in Holland (5 Mar 2015)

Boiling wood will speed up the process somewhat, but very often it takes longer than expected to get it to sink. Often I glue or tight wood to rocks to keep them down, if possible bury the stones in the substrate as seen here http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bucephalandra-tank.35883/


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## Andy Thurston (5 Mar 2015)

My mopani wood sank straight away no floating but it did heavily stain the water for a few weeks


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## brownmoth (5 Mar 2015)

Your retailer was right, Cryptocorynes are really great low maintenance plants too. I think their leaf shape complements that of Anubias, making for a full display of foliage. Don't worry if the Cryptocorynes melt a while after you've planted them, it's just their way of adapting to a new environment, and will soon regrow.

If you were planning on soaking, don't worry about changing the water every day, I've left mine in a tub until it looks like a giant cup of tea. Yeah, I also often boil or heat sticks, leaves, and other organic objects to make them sink faster, how quickly they settle depends on the type of wood and how dry it is, I guess.


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## Jay1 (5 Mar 2015)

I dont think I will have a problem with displacement they weigh a ton LOL!
I still not sure what to do with the new tank so Im going to hold off its going to take me awhile to cycle the new filter anyways, so at least I know roughly for timings on setting things up!
I like the plants I have they have character I'm going to re shape the current tank and see if I can get more plants as there is no fish I can make some mistakes with the co2 soon.
As promised here is the woods underside and actually I rarely see pictures with undersides showing especially when there is so much detailing I surprised not many people have these upside down?


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## brownmoth (8 Mar 2015)

Yeah! I think those textured details are the best bit, especially when highlighted by angled lighting. If you like them, flaunt them! One thing I learned with bogwood is that it looks more natural when clumped together, if you pile them up a bit you can make more use of the upper levels in your tank (,another use for those cable ties, there).
Mopani is sometimes very hard, and to break it up into smaller pieces I often take to a hammer. I wear goggles for this.
I'd wait a while with the CO2, let things establish a bit, and introduce it when happy with the layout.


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## Jay1 (10 Mar 2015)

Hey Adam not a bad idea I need time and paitence with the other set up, but will start this up by next month as I think I will have too many plants in the other tank I can transfer over to this one!


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