[Chris333]

Setting up a 40 long and I found this piece of wood that I like. I had to cut it down to get it into the tank.

The whole tank:

From the end:

I'll probably plant something tall behind it, but what would you guys do with it?

 

[iKine]

leave it there, cover it with plants, put bushier plants all around the bottom,

 

[idontwan2know]

Maybe build up a pile of rocks under it so that it comes out of the water a bit, then a nice slope down to the other end of the tank?

Cool piece of driftwood, but with a tank that long I think you need another focal point on the right side somewhere.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Very cool piece of wood!
If it were me, I'd move it just a few inches towards the center - I think it crowds the side wall and throws the tank off balance...
I agree with having the subtrate higher under the wood and making a slope.
I have serious driftwood envy! lol

Me, I like the bare bones look to wood - I wouldn't cover it in plants, but I realize I'm one of the few that feel that way. You'll have pleny of other places to put plants. I think seeing the "skeleton" lends a structural element to tanks that can't be had otherwise...

 

[Abrium]

Great wood and good form however it looks like softwood to me. I found a great piece of wood that I loved too that looked much like the one you have there. I treated it for weeks and placed it in my aquarium. Here is the wood itself:

The wood was great, I baked it @ 175 degrees for almost 4 hours, I bleached the wood and cured it in a 55 gallon rubbermaid barrel until it would completely sink and leaching was non-existent (to a degree). I siliconed slate to the bottom and placed it in the tank ready to go and... it rotted on me in almost no time.

What I learned from 'harvesting my own wood'. Learn your wood. If you can take that piece of wood and sink a fingernail into it or make any dent into that wood it is softwood much like the piece that I fell in love with and isn't fit for the aquarium. Softwood decay under water is tremendously fast when compared to any hardwood you may use such as cedar, mopani, mylasian, or Manzanita. I know that it is an awesome feeling finding a piece of wood but make sure you do your homework on it because wood, like any other foreign substance we put in our aquariums, can damage water quality and hurt inhabitants.

Cheers,
Abe

 

[Chris333]

It doesn't feel soft. I think it may be a bush the way it was trimmed. Where I cut part of it off the insides have a dark maroon tint.

As for the other side of the tank. I have wood for over there as well. This is my current 15g that will all go on the right side of the new tank:

 

[Abrium]

good, I hope it all works out fer ya. Due to my incident I will only use mopani or the like. As much as I want to use my own driftwood because of nature's natural design I don't want the tank to go down hill because of it.

 

[DaveK]

I like the wood found by the OP. However, I think this may be a case where it would look better "upside down", as shown from the photos. The it would look more like a root system from a tree. You could still use The same sort of plants on it as mentioned by others.

Getting it to stand up that way might require building a supporting structure, but shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

The dark maroon tint makes me wonder if it's red cedar - it has a cedar like shape to it anyhow. Be sure you can't still smell the pungent aroma of the resins!

 

[Abrium]

at least cedar is a hardwood.

 

[jasonpatterson]

at least cedar is a hardwood.

Not that it matters, but cedar is a softwood. It just happens to be fairly water/weather resistant stuff, like redwood and cypress. It's also got a bunch of interesting chemicals in it, which may or may not be shrimp/fish friendly.

 

[wkndracer]

Can make for an interesting scape.

 

[ddrfreak_tung]

If it was me, I'd tie moss to it n make a tree!!!

 

[JasonG75]

I would actually turn it UPSIDE Down.

 

[kamikazi]

I would flip it over to make a network caves and hidy places for cories or smaller loaches.

 

[jasa73]

I dont like the look of the stump (the thick part at the bottom). I'd either cut that down or bury it - so the only parts sticking out are the branches. To me it would look like a grove of trees growing out in a cluster...especially if you plant it on a hill.