Redmoor Wood Q's

[pablothebetta]

I'm planning on buying some redmoor wood for my bettas tank and have a couple of questions about it. Last time I bought wood for my tank, it was pre-soaked with plants already attatched so all this is pretty new to me

Firstly, I was wondering if it would need soaking prior to placing in the tank to reduce the amount of tannins released in the water. I don't think it'll be pre-soaked and I don't want really brown-yellow coloured water from tannins (though I don't mind a slight colouration from it). If it does need soaking, how long might it need and how might I go about doing it? Can I simply place it in a bucket of water in the garage? Would I need to change this water?

Secondly - glue. I think I may need to cut a part of the wood as it's a little too long. However, I thought of placing it elsewhere on the piece where it might fit. Could I simply glue it back on with superglue? I've heard of it being aquarium safe, but what type of superglue is safe? I planned on attatching java fern and/or anubias to the wood too - could I use superglue for this as well?

Many thanks

 

[Cazgar]

Superglue is fine as long as it's Cyanoacrylate (sp?)
You may need to soak it for quite a while if you don't want it leeching tannis into the water.
I've had a piece of Mopani soaking now for 2 months & it still turns the water brown.
The fish won't mind, but if you want a crystal clear tank it'll take a while

 

[Davo86]

The main issue with redmoor is not the tannins but the fact that redmoor will initially float as it is a dry root wood.
therefore you may need to weigh it down with rocks or other ornaments for the first couple of weeks depending on its size/weight

If you can i would say it would be better to bend the branches to fit rather than cutting them off, although you can trim small sections off to make the piece more fitting for the aquarium.

With regard to the plants use fine string or sowing thread to wrap the roots around the wood

 

[pablothebetta]

Thanks. Would soaking the wood for a while beforehand help it to float at all? I don't really have any rocks I can hold it down with so much, as it's a small tank and I plan on planting around it quite a bit

 

[Joshwainwright]

Soaking it may help, but from experience with new pieces it tends to kind of hover rather than float I'm sure some rocks aren't too hard to find, they could even be from the garden (cleaned obviously)

 

[pablothebetta]

Joshwainwright: thanks for the advice - I'll see if I can find some rocks. If it were to float in my tank, would it float in the bucket beforehand while it soaked? Would holding it down with rocks etc while soaking help it to sink when it went into my tank?

However, it seems I've had a bit of a set back. I went to my wood this morning on the internet with the intention of purchasing it and it had been sold. It was from "The Green Machine" - anyone know if they tend to regularly get new pieces of wood in? Does anyone know of anywhere other than TGM, AquaEssentials or eBay where I might be able to find some? I've looked at all 3 without luck

 

[Joshwainwright]

It could do, yeah. People soak their wood differently, some put it in a bucket, some in the dishwasher and some in the tank of a toilet!

Also, why not have a look on eBay for wood - you can get some good deals

 

[pablothebetta]

It could do, yeah. People soak their wood differently, some put it in a bucket, some in the dishwasher and some in the tank of a toilet!

... I think I'll stick to a bucket

Also, why not have a look on eBay for wood - you can get some good deals

Have had a search for redmoor and manzanita wood on there but it didn't come up with much. Maybe I'll try just "driftwood" instead.

 

[Joshwainwright]

Have had a search for redmoor and manzanita wood on there but it didn't come up with much. Maybe I'll try just "driftwood" instead.

Search for driftwood and bogwood, I'm sure there will be some pieces going cheap for auction. Then some at decent prices buy it now too

 

[Davo86]

Redmoor sells very quickly so if you see a piece you like, its best to buy it then and there,

I sell it through ebay but pieces go very quickly
http/www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=redmoor+TFS&_sacat=See-All-Categories