Tips for collecting hardscape in the great outdoors please!

[Wisey]

Hi All,

I'm at the early stages of buying all the bits for my aquarium and its going to be a few months before I get started actually setting things up, but starting to think about hardscape now so I can get wood soaking and also because up here in Aberdeen, its a long way to a shop where I can buy anything decent.

I would like to hand pick my hardscape and have already posted a thread to see if people know places further south in Scotland to buy hardscape, but I see that a few people just go out and collect stuff in the great outdoors. I have the coast here in Aberdeenshire and I have the mountains and forests, so theoretically speaking, I should have huge natural resources for hardscape.

What I am concerned about is picking something up which will cause issues in my aquarium, I gather some stone will cause PH fluctuations, I guess that's pretty obvious with things like limestone, but is there anything else I should look out for? As for wood, I know I am supposed to boil it, but picking up dead wood from the forest floor, its probably going to have all sorts living inside it. Even if its dead after boiling, I'm still adding something that will rot down and die in my tank over time.

Any tips please?

Cheers,

Wisey.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Hard wood like beech is usually OK (providing it's stripped of bark), I've even used pine before and it's been fine. As for rocks I suppose it depends on your water chemistry. For instance, relatively "inert" rocks such as sandstone, slate, granite and basalt are fine for soft water conditions. Having said that tho' many aquascapers use seiryu stone and the like (usually partially metamorphosed limestone) regardless of water chemistry, due to aesthetics, which is well known for dissolving at a rate that ups TDS and pH. However, the regular water changes favored by us planted tank enthusiast usually keeps this in check.
As for introducing DOM as a result of rotting subcutaneous saproxylic organisms in to your tank - I wouldn't worry too unduly. A well balanced tank with a mature filter should be able to handle the extra organic load, such as it is.