[marshmallow]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I am going to replant and would like to add hardscaping to add dimension. Any suggestions of good places to find quality hardscaping?

 

[Griznatch]

I haven't bought any driftwood online except Cholla wood. If you are looking at rock, there's some pretty inexpensive alternatives at places like Lowes or Home depot. I'm sure there's members on here who have had good experiences with online sources for wood.

 

[Junglist]

Riverwoodaquatics.co.uk has a great selection of woods.

Aquaforestaquarium.com has good stone selection.

I also find a ton of deals on eBay.

 

[somewhatshocked]

The For Sale and Want To Buy sections here on the forum are where I always start. Then I hit up my local shops. They have terrrrrrrrible selection but occasionally there's something good that other people overlook. So worth a shot if you have any in your area. If you don't have shops that sell aquatic stuff, you may have some that offer reptile or bird items. Check those places out because they sometimes have great manzanita and other wood that is useful in this hobby.

Some places I've bought from: Green Leaf, Big Al's, Marine Depot, That Pet/Fish Place, Aquabid (be careful, check reviews), the devil Amazon. There are others but they're all hit-or-miss and potentially problematic. Avoid the retailers that only have fancy websites (without honest reviews) and really attractive Instagram accounts.

Landscape supply centers can have hidden gems if you look. Home Depot and Lowe's have tons of great stone that can make for great aquascaping if you get a little creative.

Note that importing wood to the US can't easily be done unless it's fumigated and documented - a potential problem for aquatic use.

 

[minorhero]

Buying hardscape online is always the most expensive option because you end up paying for shipping which can easily double the cost of the thing you want to buy. Hardscape is by its nature and they're very big and bulky, or very heavy. It is always my last resort. I have bought wood from e B ay with some success. But my first choice is always going to be to buy wood locally. For stone my preferred method is finding it in the wild. It's very easy to do and to test to make sure it won't affect your water. And frankly for something as big as 55 gallon, it is by far the most cost-effective solution. Otherwise to fully hardscape up a 55 gallon here looking at hundreds of dollars. If you want very branchy pieces of Manzanita though, take a look at bloomsandbranches.com

 

[Oughtsix]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I am going to replant and would like to add hardscaping to add dimension. Any suggestions of good places to find quality hardscaping?

Where do you live? What local indigenous rocks are available in your area? I never considered the basalt rock local to me to be very pretty (because it is everywhere you look around here) but when I built my 180g tank with it I am VERY pleased with how it turned out! Because I had so many different rocks to choose from I could be selective and fit the pieces of rock together how I liked them. If I had paid for rock I would have had a much smaller selection to choose from and I would have wanted to use every last piece I paid for. Look around and see what you can pick up for free before purchasing a bunch, especially from online.

For drift wood I purchased it from my LFS (local fish store). It was much cheaper than online and being able to see the specimen in person before buying it was a huge help!