Let’s Aquascape!!! #1. Wood

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Aqua Remedy Ireland

Aquascaping is the craft of arranging aquatic plants, as well as rocks, stones, cavework, or driftwood, in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium—in effect, gardening under water.

If We already know what Aquascaping is then we must answer the question

“What materials do we need to achieve a great effect in our tank?”

The most popular building material used by Aquascapers is wood. Why wood?

Wood is a very interesting, easily accessible material. It gives a very natural look to our aquarium. Thanks to this building material, we can achieve the effect of an ancient forest, swampy wetlands or a dense jungle.

Can we use any wood? No.

The most popular wood available in pet stores is:

Bogwood
Mopani wood
Red Moore
Manzanita Wood
Opuva Wood

All of them are very nice but also expensive and sometimes difficult to access. With that in mind can We used other wood in Our tank? Wood from Our local forests or gardens? Some of them yes, but some of them definitely No!!!

Wood We can use in Our tank:

Alder
Apple
Beech
Birch
Cherry
Hawthorn
Heather
Oak
Pear
Sycamore

The wood that we should not use:

Cedar
Cypress
Grapevine
Lilac
Pine
Spruce
Walnut
Yew

Remember!!! Before Use a wood in a tank you need to clean brush to scrub the driftwood thoroughly to remove any dirt or debris. Do not use soap or any chemical cleansers. Any residue will poison your aquarium. The cleaned driftwood will then need to be soaked to saturate and “cure.”