# Which better? LAVA Rock or piece of Drift wood to attach a Bucephalandra plant?



## wmnash (Dec 14, 2015)

They are both good, however, rubber bands guickly deteriorate. Better to use a strong cotton thread. So, I would suggest it's up to what your personal aesthetics are. Wood or rock? I used a combo of both. Good luck.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

Normally both is good, but buce like hard materials, attaching to wood will take more time.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

nel said:


> Normally both is good, but buce like hard materials, attaching to wood will take more time.



Both lava rock and drift wood seem hard to me. 

When you say "hard materials" you are saying the lava rock right?

Thanks.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

Yeah, hard as rock hard. For example lignite is harder than wood, and yet it takes much longer to attach than to lava rock or any other normal rock (lignite is a little soft for a rock).


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## AbbeysDad (Apr 13, 2016)

"Do both lava rock and driftwood absorb surrounding water and so the plant has them available to its roots?"

Although lava rock is very porous and wood becomes saturated, I don't believe either really absorbs water to benefit any attached plant. 

As previously mentioned, perhaps cotton thread is a better choice than a rubber band.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

AbbeysDad said:


> "Do both lava rock and driftwood absorb surrounding water and so the plant has them available to its roots?"
> 
> Although lava rock is very porous and wood becomes saturated, I don't believe either really absorbs water to benefit any attached plant.
> 
> As previously mentioned, perhaps cotton thread is a better choice than a rubber band.


How about superglue? I know it works with corals and other aquarium plants. Any reason Bucephalandra would be different? 

Thanks.


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## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

SpaceLord said:


> How about superglue? I know it works with corals and other aquarium plants. Any reason Bucephalandra would be different?
> 
> Thanks.


I superglue'd my Bucephalandra to my driftwoodwith no problem. My only complaint is having to take the wood out of the tank to glue lol


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## patfat (Oct 23, 2015)

im glad this thread is up...im getting in some bruce and I am attaching it to wood..I was thinking of doing superglue since is just one of those easy things to do better then thread and rubber bands..as where you can hurt the roots if tie to tight with thread and rubber bands just looks tacky tacky haha!!


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

SpaceLord said:


> Do both lava rock and driftwood absorb surrounding water and so the plant has them available to its roots


Recently I made an interesting finding about lava rock. I was interested in using small pieces in my substrate as a base (filler for slopes). 

Concerned over leaching or impacts on water hardness, I tested some samples in mostly pure RO water (the TDS was in the low 20s because I hadn't changed the filters in a while). Interestingly, the TDS of the water with lava rock actually decreased slightly, while the TDS of the water-only controls either remained constant or increased slightly (presumably from dust, etc.). From this I infer that lava rock has some sort of ion exchange capacity - makes sense since crushed lava rock substrates like Eco-Complete are often touted to have CEC. 

Whether or not this would act on chemical compounds useful to plants, in amounts and ways to actually make available useful amounts to plant roots, remains to be seen and would require further testing.


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## gregorylampron (Mar 28, 2016)

I like driftwood for any plant attachment. I just make sure to buy pieces with crags to hold roots! 

Please keep hands off glass.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Check it: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/33-plants/869817-bucephalandra-grows-best.html



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