Reddit mentions of Zoo Med African Mopani Wood, Medium (Sizes May Vary)

Okay, here's what I did!

First, I actually put no work into picking a piece of wood. I ordered one of these and figured that unless it was awful, I could make it work. Too true!

Then I gathered everything else: plain dried sphagnum moss, live mood moss, and stretchy bead cord.

I fidgeted around with the plant and the bare piece of wood to figure out where it would ultimately sit, then once I had a good spot, I laid the roots across the wood in ways that went with the direction they were growing naturally. Some of the roots I threaded through holes in the wood; others I gently pushed into cracks.

I held the plant in place and started to place small amounts of dried moss over the roots, just enough to cover them. Holding all of that with one hand, I cut a length of cord, about 12" long, and wrapped it around the wood, moss, and roots. Just enough to hold it in place, I tied it off at the bottom and trimmed the ends.

From there, I built up moss around the base of the plant, and then incorporated pieces of live mood moss. I used probably three more feet of cord to secure everything down and make sure every piece was secure.

Next came the tray. I bought one of these and filled it with pebbles. Those serve two purposes: first to hold the wood at an angle I like (pile the rocks up where they're needed) and second to keep the wood from touching the bottom of the tray.

To water, I just fill the tray up. Weekly I add a regular amount of fertilizer (instead of weekly weakly) since it has to leech into the wood. Then to keep bacteria or mildew from accumulating, I occasionally add this stuff to the water. This setup has been here since about June, and I've had no bacteria or mold in the water. Have not had to clean the tray out once!

I have two more orchids on mounts (a neofinetia falcata and a "Charles M. Fitch", whatever it's actually called) in the same tray, but one of them is sort of oddly droopy and hasn't really "settled in" yet. The other one looks nice; maybe I'll post a pic in the morning.

Here are mode detailed potential benefits of this kind of things, I am using it in shrimp tanks and started adding to bettas too. In depth, why this is lacking in tap water, is described here. Tannins and fulvic acid.

There are many sources: mopani wood releases most tannins I ever seen (boil first, discard first water, this also allows it to get waterlogged and sink). Still don't know if adding a big chunk of it to the betta tank would be not stressful, it will be noticeable change in water color, will try today or tomorrow. Small pieces of this wood are sometimes available in LFS, my last purchase of it for pico tank cost total $2.

Indian almond (catappa) leaves are not even close to intensity of water coloration by tannins, but could be used in small amounts, do not disintegrate fast, and small leaf floating leaf is used by my betta as a cover, to hide under and feel comfortable. The same for alder cones. Some are using Fluval peat pellets for community tanks that need them, saying that less mess than with loose peat powder from garden center.

Kent blackwater liquid in a bottle was unimpressive to me, but this could be personal. Salty Shrimp Black Water powder was more impressive, any concentration could be made, small jar lasts long, only it has to be dissolved before adding to the tank or betta could eat pieces as pellets.

If you would be trying it, watch for water stability if you can afford: pH, KH and TDS, before and after; after each few hours during the first day, to be on the safe side.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KH7RFE/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KHDX9I/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I ordered those a few months ago. I would put them in a tub for at least 2 weeks to get most of the tannis out, but they look great and the price is right. I boiled each piece for a couple hours when I first got it as well.