# 55 gallon rock and driftwood hunt



## drazend (Sep 17, 2012)

I have been searching for rocks and driftwood for my 55 gallon for a while... I know there are others out there that understand the frustrations with doing so on the narrow/tall bugger ... It was a great deal, and i knew NOTHING about aquariums when i got it :hihi: but i've been pleased with it so far.

This weekend i did some hunting and found a boatload of rocks and a few pieces of driftwood. Unfortunately, the best piece i found (that was enormous) I think is going to be too soft :icon_cry: It was slightly hollowed out, and I really liked the look... But I think it's a softwood, and there are several "squishy" places on it. I do have a other pieces I can work with, i just have to get them prepped and treated.

Below is a picture of the most current setup (that I have right now) but i've replaced most of the plastic plants with some wisteria. Below that is what I found this weekend.

Any advice out there from you experts? 

and for some reason, i can't pass up a good deal on these 55 gallons... I found another on craigslist even cheaper than the first! :icon_roll

But I have some frame work to do before I can begin designing with it. 

Most recent tank picture (sorry for the horrible quality)









Results of the weekend search...









closer up of the one that just won't work


----------



## steven p (Jun 22, 2012)

I know the feeling of finding that perfect branch or rock that just cant be used. Just keep looking, before long youll have cupboards full of branches


----------



## Rene02 (Aug 1, 2012)

It sucks to find the perfect piece of wood or rock, only to have it be no good for your aquarium... as well as how it can be difficult to work with 55 gallon tanks (I have one), it isn't impossible to aquascape it with some wood, however it can be difficult at times  I wish you good luck!


----------



## Rene02 (Aug 1, 2012)

Also, I feel your pain of the one that just won't work, it looks pretty sweet


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Okay, so you say it just won't work but you love it? Is it the soft wood that stops you? 
I think there is hope! It does not look like any kind of "softwood" as I know it. Wood that is soft is not always a softwood. Softwood is often defined as pine, fir, cedar, etc. but that does not really bother me if the wood is totally dry like you have. When they get around to being hollow like that they are likely to have dried not only from the outside but the inside as well. This gets them dry much quicker. I find once the sap and tannins are gone, the species does not matter. Pine might rot down in five rather than the ten oak might take but for me, my tanks don't expect to be the same five years from now! 
If it is pretty to your eye, I say use it and if it rots in five years, you may have fallen in love with something better by then. The price is right and most of us need the exercise to go look for more. Win/win and no worry!


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Why not soak that neat piece and scrape it down? It might be hard beneath the soft surface. If not, oh well. 

Not a fan of using soft wood in water. It doesn't just rot away faster, the soft wood provides places for algae to grow. If you are planning to put any bristlenose plecos in the tank they would be very happy though!


----------



## drazend (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks for the great info! I have not given up on it completely, I have a 50 gallon drum that I'm going to use to soak it... is the algae and decomposition the worst thing that could happen?


----------



## drazend (Sep 17, 2012)

PlantedRich said:


> Okay, so you say it just won't work but you love it? Is it the soft wood that stops you?
> I think there is hope! It does not look like any kind of "softwood" as I know it. Wood that is soft is not always a softwood. Softwood is often defined as pine, fir, cedar, etc. but that does not really bother me if the wood is totally dry like you have. When they get around to being hollow like that they are likely to have dried not only from the outside but the inside as well. This gets them dry much quicker. I find once the sap and tannins are gone, the species does not matter. Pine might rot down in five rather than the ten oak might take but for me, my tanks don't expect to be the same five years from now!
> If it is pretty to your eye, I say use it and if it rots in five years, you may have fallen in love with something better by then. The price is right and most of us need the exercise to go look for more. Win/win and no worry!


You know... I never put 2 and 2 together, deciduous = hardwood conifer = softwood (gymnosperms) :icon_redf.... I'm so glad you said this... I was completely having a mind block... i'm such a goob... :icon_roll I was so stuck on how hard/soft the wood actually was, instead of thinking of how it was classified...

The one piece I really like I am 90% sure is deciduous... :smile:

I do have another, much smaller piece I like, that you can't see well below and I think it's cedar (based on the smell), so i'm glad to know I can use it in my tank too. I definitely do not mind replacing it before it rots completely... Much like you, I will likely change the tank several times within the next 5 years... Heck, I'll probably (hopefully) have a much larger tank by then! 

Thanks again for all the info people, it's much appreciated!


----------



## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

I am lucky enough to live in a place where gathering driftwood is as easy as taking a hike and bringing back some long-dead manzanita. 

And yet, I never do! Rocks are harder to gather here, too much limestone. but i love gathering stones from the beaches a bit up the coast. Very beautiful stones to be found in south-central California coast!


----------



## drazend (Sep 17, 2012)

Bunfoo said:


> I am lucky enough to live in a place where gathering driftwood is as easy as taking a hike and bringing back some long-dead manzanita.
> 
> And yet, I never do! Rocks are harder to gather here, too much limestone. but i love gathering stones from the beaches a bit up the coast. Very beautiful stones to be found in south-central California coast!


Hahaha, that's awesome! I know the feeling. I'm surrounded by trees, and I see nice driftwood looking pieces while driving to and from work... But where my house is, I have no backyard and to gather driftwood I would have to walk a couple of miles... Ah, I guess I'm just lazy!

I know what you mean about the limestone, however I've read semi recently that depending on the current pH of your water (and hardness etc.) rocks such as limestone that would normally raise your pH wouldn't raise your pH at all or would only raise it a tenth or so. I can't remember the specifics, but for water with a pH between 7 - 7.8 (I'm not 100% on the high end here) and a certain level of hardness (again, sorry for not knowing the details) certain rocks such as Limestone or Dolomitic Limestone have enough "buffering agents" (certain minerals) to lock the calcite and aragonite so that they do not affect the pH of the water.

I found this very interesting and wanted to give it a try since I had a cool limestone rock with a layer of what looks like blank quartz in it. So far, my pH hasn't changed at all... if anything it's gone down about .1 But this is most likely unrelated to the addition of the rocks. I plan on keeping an eye on it, and if it changes I will do a water change and remove the rocks. Until then, I will keep rock'n out! 

The black layer looks dull in this picture =\


----------

