With some new DW.

I wondered that. 'Drift-wood' perhaps. I just call 'em 'stumps'. 'Bog-wood' I think is the term for that type.

Sand got a mention in another topic, what type did you go for?

The tank is coming along very nicely. The Cory option sounds good.

Also, looking at your stumps and plants, you're gonna have a lot of head-space. And your fish so far, are bottom dwellers. What's going up there?

DW is drift wood.

I bought sand at the local parts store. Its a mix of play sand and contractor type sand for color with gravel out of the 50 gallon.

These pieces of DW are only starter pieces and will be accent pieces. I'm still on the prowl for a 'show' piece. Once I find that, then there won't be as much head room. I haven't decided on any other fish besides the bottom dwellers as of yet. I don't want to take up pleco room with too many other fish.

I was big on the large root-stock sort of wood. I looks like it's properly rooted, with a trunk that rises up to just a tad above the water.

But I guess you'd know, being a 'Plecy', that it doesn't take too many months for the buggars to demolish one.

To get a good one for 18" water, I'd be looking at Aus $40-50, and an hours drive.

I've decided to just go with the native stuff from down at my Sisters creek. When you spend a couple of hours wandering around the scrub, just noting where the interesting bit lay, come back to the tank, for a bit of a stare.

The ol' brain is turning over with some ideas. There's some wonderful hollow branches lying about there, up to 6 foot long, ranging from 2 to 5 inch diameter.

I know the right piece of wood is going to cost a pretty penny. Finding the right stuff for your personal tank and your theme is what makes fishkeeping interesting.

suggestion - join bits of wood together.

i'm not sure how u would do it, i'll leave it to our resident DIY expert (Kana) to figure out a way.

in the past i have 'joined' bits of wood together by sitting them on top of each other which can work. i also found java ferns, once they root, can help hold them together

I would do that, but it would leave the rest of the tank bare and there wouldn't be enough places for territories. There is alot of hypancistrus that don't like wood, except for territory and cover (they burrow in the sand beneath the wood), in this tank, so I need it spread out to keep everybody happy.

Mr Meccano !

Oi reckon, you could do dowel joints. And then slap on some of Nicks Java Moss to hide the joint.

Using Java Moss to bind things, does not allow for too big a piece of wood.

But if you've got some nice solid pieces like I suspect Funky is after, they'd probably stack pretty well. Placing post-water, eliminates the use of silicon to ensure integrity of your structure, unless you sticky it first. But nylon twine (fishing line) would do ok.



This was where I was trying to go with the main tank, but those root stocks are a premium. With my plant growth, I could get away with a little condo pyramid of poly-pipe, camoflagued in gravel and wood chips. Just tuck it down the back.

While we're discussing wood and hiding places.

Here's one of Nick's he prepared earlier. Just scroll half-way down the page to the pics.

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That's a nice piece, just jam it into the sand a bit deeper. But a few of those would interlock very nicely, with all sorts of nooks and cranies.

This is the sand I used-

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dont be breathing sand, according to one of those links it's carcinogenic

Don't breathe the dust of the sand. I washed all of the dust out.

I know it's just sand, but I would have gone elsewhere.

The data sheet indicates that all problems, immediate and long-term, occur with the Lungs & Respiratory Tract. You've got the equivalent organs of your Fish, in the same medium as the sand.

And you're Catfish will be nosing in it.