# Attaching driftwood



## HuntCast (Aug 25, 2013)

There are lots of ways. Fishing line, zip ties, screws. Some even use silicone and glue. You can use rocks to hold them down, egg crate, even suction cups against the glass. Too many to name them all.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

One of the fairly common methods is to drill through a piece of slate (pick up in the flooring section of Home Depot/Lowes), and use a stainless steel wood screw (check the hardware aisle, usually there is a separate section with drawers full of stainless steel screws, bolts, nuts, washers, etc.). This usually provides more than enough weight to hold even a fresh piece of wood down, and allows to to mount pieces of wood going straight up, or out at an angle, or other arrangement that needs some sort of support. The slate also keeps the wood from shifting (if it gets bumped, you have diggers, etc.) 

I use nylon bolts/machine screws, but they are a bit more difficult to attach then simply putting in a wood screw. If it's going straight into the wood, I'll tap the hole, if the wood is narrow/thin, I'll drill through it, and use a nylon nut.

Silicone tends to be the first glue/sealant people go to for aquarium related stuff, but I think epoxy is a much better choice, it will bond to a wider variety of substrates, has a stronger bond, and will bond to itself (for repeated coatings/etc.). Silicone only bonds well to a handful of things (glass, aluminum, some rocks, etc.), and isn't really that strong of a bond for general use. 

Some people recommend super glue, but I think that's prone to weakening/wearing off over time, and I don't think it's generally recommended for porous materials (like wood). Something like gorilla glue would probably work, the dendroboards folk use it a lot to make backgrounds and such, but I haven't used it for this purpose, so I can't speak from experience.


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## Nismostyle (Feb 21, 2011)

I actually bought a pack of 2 inch diameter suction cups and stuck them to the bottom of the tank at the lowest points of my driftwood. I then tied some black thread to them and covered them with my substrate. Its easier to tie if you leave 2 pieces of thread off the suction cup. Position your driftwood and tie it down. Works great and doesn't get in the way of any plants.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

I made one branch from several using zip ties and egg crate.

Check out the first page of my journal here for some pics: Fallen Tree Branch 60cm

It might give you some ideas on how to get them together.


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## veark (Apr 7, 2013)

I think the nylon machine screws is what I was looking for - sucha a good idea! My main concern is that I don't really want to add anything that can eventually change water chemistry, and this one seems completely safe.

I have tried the silicone to glue wood to stone and it doesn't work good (it still holds, weirdly, but it doesn't feel like a good bond. 

I checked your setup AnotherHobby and all I can say is wow... unfortunately in my case that wouldn't be applicable, but that is definately an option for a future one.

Thanks for all the advice!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Plain old metal screws are fine and last about 5-10 years.
You can hide the transitions using ferns, moss, Anubias etc.
Zip ties work well for smaller wood that cannot be screwed into.

Base plates, slate floor tiles etc, can be drilled through and used to offer position and support for wood also. Ceramic drill bits go through slate like butter for screw holes.

Cuts, saw marks etc, use a small torch and roast the wood till you get a nice ember charcoal. Allow to cool, then wire brush the black charcoal away, you'll have a nice weathered look afterwards.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Nismostyle said:


> I actually bought a pack of 2 inch diameter suction cups and stuck them to the bottom of the tank at the lowest points of my driftwood. I then tied some black thread to them and covered them with my substrate. Its easier to tie if you leave 2 pieces of thread off the suction cup. Position your driftwood and tie it down. Works great and doesn't get in the way of any plants.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


I like this idea, haven't tried it myself yet, though I've heard suction cups being recommended for securing wood on a few forums/threads.




AnotherHobby said:


> I made one branch from several using zip ties and egg crate.
> 
> Check out the first page of my journal here for some pics: Fallen Tree Branch 60cm
> 
> It might give you some ideas on how to get them together.


Very lovely setup and nice idea. Did you get the egg crates at a home improvement store?



plantbrain said:


> Cuts, saw marks etc, use a small torch and roast the wood till you get a nice ember charcoal. Allow to cool, then wire brush the black charcoal away, you'll have a nice weathered look afterwards.


I will have to try to touching method! I hate the look of sawed/cut wood in tank, looses that natural scene-out-of-the-wild feel (even if its a little inaccurate with mixed regions of plant/fish species but shhh).


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

AquaAurora said:


> Very lovely setup and nice idea. Did you get the egg crates at a home improvement store?


Yes, I found it with the hanging ceiling tiles/parts at home depot. Some people report finding it in the lighting section.


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## veark (Apr 7, 2013)

Love the burning idea. I don't have a torch, but I will do it on the stove...

And yes, i think I will use metal screws, it something leaks it would be iron, right...


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