Where can I get or make decorations

[Peter99]

I've been to a couple of LFS to see if i can buy some driftwood and rocks (not gravel) for my aquarium. Unfortunately, all the decorations that the LFS sell are quite poor in quality. One store had rocks but doesn't look great and no stores sell driftwood. I'm not sure if I can pull branches off and boil them before putting them in my tank, I heard its not good for fishes in the tank.

Anyone know where I can buy some quality driftwood and rocks (for caves) for my tank in the North Jersey area? Thanks in advance.

 

[StreetCypher]

Large pet retail stores carry driftwood, rocks and deco. Try petcetera or a big als type place, or whatever the US equivalent of that is.

 

[daveedka]

Just an Fyi, If you are in North Jersey you can go out and pick up rocks. Pretty much everything I've seen in your area is basalt or Granite with some quartzite laced in all of which can be cleaned boiled and put in the tank. In most cases you can find basalt in varius colors and patterns and it is a great looking rock. Virginia is one of the larger slate producing states so there should be some nice slate available in your area. If you are looking for slate, try the local landscape/ gardening store. They are usually much cheaper than the LFS's. Driftwood likewise can be gathered cleaned boiled if possible and used. I wouldn't reccomend anything off of a tree, the driftwood leaches a lot into the water as it becomes driftwood. If you got fresh stuff you would be forever removing a multitude of leached things from your water.

 

[TonyN]

If you do a web search on "driftwood", there are quite a few sites out there that deal strictly in driftwood. I've checked out some of them and you can get anything you could possibly want.
As far as rocks go, I agree with Daveedka. You can get most anything you want in your back yard.

 

[Mako]

Here are some things I do that save cash, and honestly, look more natural.

1) My substrate is pebbles and coarse sand from local streams, then rinsed/cleaned well. If the stream is clean looking, pollution and diseases usually aren't an issue. Then again, I live in a somewhat rural area. I wouldn't do this in Chicago or L.A.

2) Rocks-- most anything very hard (ie, not easy to chip with a screwdriver) is safe. Put a few drops of vinegar on it (or muriatic acid, if you have it, is better) and if it fizzes, it will raise the pH of your tank, which you may not want unless you keep hardwater fish.

3) Driftwood-- there is tons upon tons of driftwoon in my local lakes and rivers. If you have access to a boat or a canoe, head along the shoreline and look for it, usually in shallow water or washed up on the shore. Be careful not to get anything that smells like it is decomposing. Good driftwood smells like peat moss and can't be dug far into with a screwdriver too easily. Clean with a very hard bristle brush (like a wire grill brush), and bleach for a few days in a 10% bleach solution-- then rinse well and soak again in clean water. (Actually, if the wood is very well scrubbed, I usuallly skip the bleach). I have a friend that make a ton of cash selling driftwood he's prepared.

DO NOT EVER use wood that hasn't spent some time floating around in a lake, river, or ocean (ie, stuff you find in the woods). I'm sure some types of wood are safe, but they are loaded with tannic acid, and it's best to let nature absorb most of it.

If you have a pressure washer (or access to one) or sandblasting equipment, either one can make driftwood look incredible. The pressurewasher, especially, does good at blasting out dirt, rotted bark, etc... But this isn't necessary. I don't b/c I don't have the equipment.


4) Live plants--- Here in the lowcountry in SC, we have wads of plants that are great in the aquarium. I just go to the lakes, poke around the shores, and see what I find (other than alligators and cottonmouth snakes). NJ should have some nice plants as well. Be careful not to transport any leeches or other critters by accident--- rinse them well under strong faucet water.