The Appealing Feature of Manzanita Driftwood, An Inexpensive Aquascaping Material
Manzanita driftwood, also known as Mountain driftwood, might be one of their favorites among many aquarium enthusiasts. Its branchy characteristic adds a unique touch to any aquarium that it inhabits.
It would be interesting to learn more about this aquascaping driftwood if you would like to work with it in the future.
The Appealing Characteristics of the Driftwood
People do not utilize this driftwood without reason. Specific characteristics make it appealing for aquascaping:
Manzanita wood with High Durability
People like Manzanita driftwood due to its high durability, which is essential in aquascaping.
Even when placed inside the aquarium water, it will not break or bend.
Most importantly, the wood is resistant to rotting so that the fish will not get poisoned.
Long-lasting because this wood is a hardwood and suitable for all types of aquariums
The Cleanliness of manzanita wood
The second thing about this wood is its Cleanliness. It does not need chemicals to enhance its durability and aesthetics.
The wood does not emit too much discharge into the water, except for tannins that may slowly dissipate over time.
Stimulating Structure
The fish inside your aquarium will be better off living an active life instead of the passive one. However, a non-stimulating environment can cause the latter.
Due to its structure with many curves, twits to its branches, the manzanita driftwood can stimulate the fish to move around its thin branches.
Good Aesthetics
Perhaps the most appealing characteristic of this wood is its beautiful aesthetics.
Despite not being treated by chemicals, it already has a beautiful natural color That adds beauty and unique character to any aquarium.
People do not use it solely for aquascaping but also for ornaments in public spaces.
Manzanita wood safe for aquarium
Most driftwood will slightly lower the water ph in your aquarium, but that’s different if you use manzanita wood; this wood gives neutral ph and does not affect your water ph.
Even though tannins are not harmful, manzanita wood doesn’t produce many tannins, and it’s free of any resin usually produced by wood.
The most important thing for its safety to use in your aquarium is manzanita driftwood does not produce any toxic that can harm your fish, snails, shrimps and is 100% safe for any aquarium plant.
Affordable wood for aquarium
Among many other driftwoods, manzanita wood can be considered inexpensive, too; This might be the reason that people love to use it, in addition to its appealing features. The price might be varied consider the size and pre-treatment of this wood.
Manzanita wood is easy to find
Because manzanita wood is the most popular driftwood for aquascaping, most local or online stores in the united states will provide this wood. Make sure you buy it from reputable and specialized in aquascaping.
Manzanita wood uniqueness
If you treated manzanita wood in the right ways, it would display a set of beautiful colors. You can get different colors by sandpapering, and it will bring various colors from white, creamy, brown, or reddish.
When the wood sinks into the water, it will bring a more attractive and darker color that may change into more gray, dark brown, or black. It is a fantastic shape that appeals more.
How to Prepare Manzanita Driftwood for Your Aquarium
It is fascinating when your driftwood order comes to your doorstep. However, the task does not stop there.
Before you use it, It would be best to prepare it well; if not, the aquascaping process might not run as smoothly.
The first thing that the aquarium owner needs to do is to soak the driftwood inside the water several days before use. It is because the wood is light and buoyant.
Remove the bark from manzanita wood if it has any of it because it will affect the health of your aquarium.
The wood will float around if it is not soaked in the water beforehand, ruining the aquascape look when water is added.
Manzanita wood sinking in water and stop leeching tannins depend on several things; basically, it’s about the size of the wood. My estimation is around 3 until 10 days, and that is just an estimate; if you are impatient, you can not rush the process. All you need is to wait.
Weigh it down in your tank with a rock or other heavy object. Eventually, it will stay submerged on its own
Boiling the wood is not a must, but I will keep boiling it for 10 until 30 minutes for any driftwood I have; the boiling time depends on the size of the wood.
After that, you need to decide whether to leave the driftwood bare or add more enhancement. It is recommended to add moss to the branch.
In addition to adding aesthetics, this will encourage the fish to inhabit the driftwood. You can read more detail about how to prepare driftwood properly.
How to use and design aquascaping with manzanita driftwood
You can use stone as a base for your wood cause it will make the manzanita wood easy to sink without soaking first.
There are many easy ways to arrange manzanita wood by sweeping it. You can interlock a few pieces together to create unique hardscapes or put it upside down as if the root is coming from top to bottom or vice versa. Do it with your imagination.
There are no specific things about designing, and it all depends on your imagination.
For some aquarists expecting algae from manzanita wood that is not scrubbed and clean periodically will give unique shapes and appealing to their aquascaping design ideas.
In Summary
Several things make Manzanita driftwood appealing for aquascaping:
- It is highly durable
- The driftwood is clean from chemicals and other substances
- The structure is stimulating for the fish
- It is unique and beautiful
- affordable price and easy to get
- 100% safe for aquariums
- Easy to design with
- Manzanita wood has Its uniqueness
