what is so $20 special about a Manzanita stick?

smackpixi · 11-07-2009, 04:59 AM

It looks, pretty much, like a dead oak branch. Which pretty much anyone can find, and boil, till sinkable and stick in their tank. Why are people paying $20 for something that looks like a stick they could find themselves on a 20 minute walk?

sewingalot · 11-07-2009, 05:09 AM

Convenience and desire for a certain look.

**xximanoobxx** · 11-07-2009, 05:43 AM

Some people live in places that are far from locations where drift woods are located.

hydrophyte · 11-07-2009, 07:33 AM

Manzanita is quite rot resistant and can persist for years in a fishtank. Wood from most common types of forest trees, on the other hand, will start to rot right away if placed underwater, turning to mush and fouling the water.

Oak is especially rot-prone in wet situations.

**FrostyNYC** · 11-07-2009, 01:17 PM

I couldnt find a decent looking dry stick or a rock here in NYC if I spent all day looking for one.

**macclellan** · 11-07-2009, 01:54 PM

Cubic zirconia looks a lot like a diamond, but the properties, and therefore values, are quite different.
Oak sucks for aquariums, manzanita lasts effectively forever.

smackpixi · 11-07-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrostyNYC

I couldnt find a decent looking dry stick or a rock here in NYC if I spent all day looking for one.

You might try Central Park

I hear there's a few rocks and sticks there.

I guess the answer is because this type of wood will last, persist, when underwater for many years? I understand easily for other types of driftwood, because they're attractive, but this kind just seems like a stick. Not unattractive sticks, but very familiar sticks.

**Dollface** · 11-07-2009, 10:02 PM

First of all, depending on the size, manzanita branches usually go for 1-2$ each on the hobby market. And no, manzanita looks nothing like dead oak branches. For the most part, manzanita comes in a greater variety of more attractive shapes and sizes which makes it more desirable, along with being rot resistant.
Another thing about manzanita is that it grows pretty much exclusively along the west coast, mostly in the pacific northwest. So while I could go on a 20 minute walk and come back with a full hardscape, somebody in, say, west virginia doesn't really have that luxury. Not to mention people who don't have time or access to go collecting.

RianS · 11-07-2009, 11:05 PM

to help the manzy side out it really does last forever other than for plecos eating the wood and the wood is so intriguing due to its natural growth.

sewingalot · 11-08-2009, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollface

So while I could go on a 20 minute walk and come back with a full hardscape, somebody in, say, west virginia doesn't really have that luxury.

LOL, I hope you only mean this for manzy, because Wild, Wonderful West Virgina didn't get this slogan for no reason.

source: history.com

**Dollface** · 11-08-2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sewingalot

LOL, I hope you only mean this for manzy, because Wild, Wonderful West Virgina didn't get this slogan for no reason.

Considering this is a manzanita thread...

sewingalot · 11-08-2009, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollface

Considering this is a manzanita thread...

I hoped so. You cracked me up! Thanks for that.

I am super jealous of the manzanita. I would love to see pictures of it alive. I am off to google.

Edit:
http://www.laspilitas.com/groups/man...anzanitas.html

This is a stunning plant. No wonder we pay so much for the wood. Now I want a live one!

**Dollface** · 11-08-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sewingalot

I hoped so. You cracked me up! Thanks for that.

I am super jealous of the manzanita. I would love to see pictures of it alive. I am off to google.

Edit:
http://www.laspilitas.com/groups/man...anzanitas.html

This is a stunning plant. No wonder we pay so much for the wood. Now I want a live one!

Haha, no you don't, more often than not they look like this!
http://www.friscovista.com/images/so...a-IMG_4784.jpg

Church · 11-08-2009, 01:53 PM

I just hope that all the people who sell it are being responsible, and either collecting it from dead shrubs in the wild, or planting it specifically for harvesting and selling.

To think that people might be just going around chopping down all these various size trees, just for a swap n shop thread, that would be sad. So yeah, hopefully, there's just plenty of dead and dying branches out there in the wild.

That being said, NOTHING that I've seen has the kinds of twists, zigs, and zags that manzy branches have. Definitely not oak. So I don't fully understand what the OP is talking about.

**Riiz** · 11-08-2009, 04:11 PM

Well it is a PITA, if it is fresh anyways, but where I live its easy to go just go out and harvest plenty of sun-dried, dead wood.

11-07-2009, 04:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
smackpixi Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: billings, mt Posts: 25	what is so $20 special about a Manzanita stick? It looks, pretty much, like a dead oak branch. Which pretty much anyone can find, and boil, till sinkable and stick in their tank. Why are people paying $20 for something that looks like a stick they could find themselves on a 20 minute walk?

11-07-2009, 05:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
xximanoobxx Noob (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sunnyvale, California Posts: 182	Some people live in places that are far from locations where drift woods are located. __________________ Do!aqua mini-m

11-07-2009, 07:33 AM	#4 (permalink)
hydrophyte Sponsor (View User Tanks) PTrader: (5/100%) Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 1,743	Manzanita is quite rot resistant and can persist for years in a fishtank. Wood from most common types of forest trees, on the other hand, will start to rot right away if placed underwater, turning to mush and fouling the water. Oak is especially rot-prone in wet situations. __________________ Hydrophyte

11-07-2009, 01:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
FrostyNYC Nano Tank Fiend (View User Tanks) PTrader: (12/100%) Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NYC & Long Island, NY Posts: 1,371	I couldnt find a decent looking dry stick or a rock here in NYC if I spent all day looking for one. __________________ My 10 Gallon Journal

11-07-2009, 01:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
macclellan Pastafarian (View User Tanks) PTrader: (154/99%) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 37909 Posts: 3,060	Cubic zirconia looks a lot like a diamond, but the properties, and therefore values, are quite different. Oak sucks for aquariums, manzanita lasts effectively forever. __________________ Metapimp #1 (and only) - because somebody has to keep all these pimps in check.

11-07-2009, 05:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
sewingalot Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (59/100%) Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 2,974	Convenience and desire for a certain look.

11-07-2009, 10:02 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dollface ◕ ◡ ◕ ◕ ◡ ◕ ◕ ◡ ◕ (View User Tanks) PTrader: (28/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Alameda, CA Posts: 986	First of all, depending on the size, manzanita branches usually go for 1-2$ each on the hobby market. And no, manzanita looks nothing like dead oak branches. For the most part, manzanita comes in a greater variety of more attractive shapes and sizes which makes it more desirable, along with being rot resistant. Another thing about manzanita is that it grows pretty much exclusively along the west coast, mostly in the pacific northwest. So while I could go on a 20 minute walk and come back with a full hardscape, somebody in, say, west virginia doesn't really have that luxury. Not to mention people who don't have time or access to go collecting. __________________ Wabi Kusa is just an Aquascape Katamari. Nanaa nana na nana NaNa.

11-07-2009, 11:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
RianS Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: May 2009 Location: Outerspace Posts: 160	to help the manzy side out it really does last forever other than for plecos eating the wood and the wood is so intriguing due to its natural growth. __________________ 20H

11-08-2009, 01:53 PM	#14 (permalink)
Church Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 2,527	I just hope that all the people who sell it are being responsible, and either collecting it from dead shrubs in the wild, or planting it specifically for harvesting and selling. To think that people might be just going around chopping down all these various size trees, just for a swap n shop thread, that would be sad. So yeah, hopefully, there's just plenty of dead and dying branches out there in the wild. That being said, NOTHING that I've seen has the kinds of twists, zigs, and zags that manzy branches have. Definitely not oak. So I don't fully understand what the OP is talking about. __________________

11-08-2009, 04:11 PM	#15 (permalink)
Riiz \|,,\|(-_-)\|,,\| (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: So Cal - Inland Empire Posts: 207	Well it is a PITA, if it is fresh anyways, but where I live its easy to go just go out and harvest plenty of sun-dried, dead wood.

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