Tomb Raider Petrified Wood Anubias Garden- evolution pics p.1! video 3/6

[whitepapagold]

Originally Posted by blkg35

The tank definitely matches the theme. Great job!
Where did you buy the petrified wood at? Those are some really nice pieces.
I'm in OC too so hopefully it's local.

Nope... not local. I did hear of a quarry type location somewhere around here but I never went and don't remember where.

ALL of the petrified wood came from... EBAY! It seemed strange but there is so much on there is ridiculous.

I still cant believe I found that huge plank on there... The best shots of that are on page 1.

Then I bought multiple auctions and finally an entire lot auction.

I spent around 800 bucks on rock... 200+ of which had to be shipping.

But to anyone who wants KILLER petrified wood- Ebay is it! And here are a few tips (I learned over the 3 months I bought and watched like crazy)-

1. Nazlini rock is by far the most amazing... and expensive. But its colorful like fruitloops yet in a VERY organic and tasteful way.

2. Search terms- petrified round, petrified limb, petrified lot and petrified stump. Petrified round yields the best pieces- as in full logs. Stump is usually too big.

3. When you find a killer seller like Grandmuddy (I think thats the name) check the other auctions.

4. Beware of odd colored petrified wood potentially- its the chemicals that cause the colors. I didn't have any issues but it could be in theory.

5. My water is pretty hard with all that rock.

In the end, Ebay really came through and had the best variety. And the hunt is pretty fun!

[scapegoat]

most attempts to create a scene like this result in utter failure... generally looking like a 10 year old designed it.

you've done one hell of a job here. very inspiring.

[scream-aim-fire]

that is pretty cool looking, looks like a jungle.

[radioman]

The last pic blew me away. It looks just like something out of tomb raider. Great job.

[SlammedDC2]

I'll be honest, I didn't like the scape in the begining, but man it really looks great as you added more petrified wood and slabs. Very well done.

[blkg35]

Thanks for the tips whitepapagold. But $800 for petrified wood...
The wood is definitely the major factor of pulling off the theme of the tank.
Keep us updated with photos, love to see its progression.

[whitepapagold]

Thanks all!

Originally I wasn't going to add wood, but I couldn't resist.

And then I was only going to have all anubias and only the java fern on the head... But I LOVE bolbitis and added some and then decided to try a moss- the fissidens fontanus is just amazing! Its tied all along the wood at the top.

Now, after a year of struggle and neglect, the plants are ALL doing well. New growth on 90% at all times (knock on wood- or petrified wood in this case). Its now just a matter of time and hoping it all fills in.

Its still a long way off from what I envision, but its definitely on the way. And the hard scape is pretty much done.

And I appreciate the "non nature aquarium" comments. Ive been doing this for a very long time- pre Amano. And it was Takashi who inspired me to do planted tanks many many years ago- after seeing his amazing work. That combined with the advent of homebrew co2.

But now, it seems thats all anyone does. And to go from "no Amano" to "90% Amano" has gotten old... There has to be new ways to approach the planted tank!

The last steps for this tank are-

1. better way of adding CO2- Im just feeding a big rio powerhead CO2. It works and Im hitting good saturation but the bubbles are a bit much. They were off for the photo. Im trying to convert part of the built in backfilter into a diffusor but as of yet am too lazy to really take it on.

2. Once the growth is substantial enough and the cherry shrimp population strong enough, add a school of fish. Probably Rasboras again but who knows!

[whitepapagold]

The color is better on this one! But taking more shots as Im not satisfied with the ones we took.

[whitepapagold]

Added 21 Rasboras.

Built the CO2 diffuser into the built in backfilter and tore out the back right corner.

Replaced the java fern at the top center with bolbitis.

And the fissidens is going off!

Pics this week!

[takadi]

One of my all time favorite tanks. I wonder how this would look like if you tried it out as a terranium

[ValMM]

That tank looks more ancient every time I see an updated picture. Good job.

[wetworks]

I am very impressed with this tank, especially the size- some of those petrified wood pieces must be huge! I really like the simplicity of the scape and how you got a ton of use out of very few plants.

[Alaizabelle]

I am in LOVE with this tank!!

Maybe this is just what I need to show people to get the ok for a big tank

[vincenz]

This is so awesome. It's such a fresh breath of air from all the other tanks in here. Looks like it came right out of a movie set.

[whitepapagold]

Wow, thanks everyone!

Just wait till the new pics this week (probably). Ive been really into it recently so Ive been dividing the petite, java fern and bolbitis.

And the fissidens at the top is looking KILLER! And I grew 2 mats out on ss mesh. One is on a small rock bridge and the other on a rock under the bust.

Only problem is the fissidens is getting attacked by the marimo ball algae! Its popping up in small fuzzy tufts all over the tank- but they look very cool so its all good!