[johnnymax]

I would like to have a natural look in my new 75g tank ultimately. I would love to have tree roots in it.
What I am going to do is go to rivers and creeks and look along the banks.
We have had so much rain and flooding at rivers that I should be able to find what I want.
What I am going to do is look along the banks where it has eroded the river bank back and washed back a cliff.
Where it has eroded back to trees and exposed their roots. I will bring my hand saw and cut a section or two the is about 8 or 10 inches taller than my aquarium.
Then I can trim it to height so it sits on the glass bottom flat and have it trimmed flat above the surface of the water.
If I can get sections that have small long roots and thick with even smaller root, it will make great hiding places for fry, or abused fish.
Has anyone here done this?

 

[fish_gazer]

Has anyone here done this?

I have not. It's an interesting thought though. Just be careful that thing doesn't tip over on you.

 

[BlueSunshine]

Only thing i can think of is, if you have live plants in your tank already, be aware of what kind of tree/plant roots you add. Some trees and or plants give off toxins from the roots in order to compete with others for space/territory. This may kill your existing plants, if you have any.

 

[ken31cay]

I did this with Casuarina tree roots in my 450gal. The Coastal Works Dept. here cut a number of the trees down along a stretch of beach about 6-7 years prior to when I cut them so they were dead and saturated/hardened by the salt tide. I selected and cut two sections.

After a few months in my Discus Tanks they started to erode slightly so I took them out and worked on them for a few months; I treated with wood preserver then coated them with Pond Armor. See pics below.

 

[Kipnlilo]

I couldn't agree more with the Pond Shield Pond Armor. Great stuff!

 

[ken31cay]

I couldn't agree more with the Pond Shield Pond Armor. Great stuff!

I wasted around 3x more than I actually used due to my clumsy hands but you're right that stuff is amazing.

 

[Kipnlilo]

I couldn't agree more with the Pond Shield Pond Armor. Great stuff!

I wasted around 3x more than I actually used due to my clumsy hands but you're right that stuff is amazing.

You have to use the thinning method recommended or else you will use to much and it will be thick. Trust me! I did that the first time I used it.

 

[ken31cay]

You have to use the thinning method recommended or else you will use to much and it will be thick. Trust me! I did that the first time I used it.

That's exactly right, I thought about this after I finished.