My tank in progress

Lauren just sent us a picture of her newest tank, she set up one of our tunnel pieces for her Black-Ghost Knife and a small slate piece.

Beautiful tank, only trouble… her knife loves his tunnel and she rarely sees him, but according to reports He is happy and that’s important.

Joe, just recently purchased these pieces from us and promises to keep us informed on the progress.  We have the 1st 2 in the series here.  you can see a little clouding of the water, this is completely normal and will clear up in a few weeks or so with normal aquarium care or you can pre-soak as advised.  A lot of our clients are so anxious to get their tank going that they skip that step.

Manzanita can be prepared for use in your aquarium by pre-soaking for several days to several weeks, depending on the size of the piece. The manzanita can be placed in a large bucket or trash can and weighed down to keep it submerged. The water that you soak it in should be changed every other day, once the water that you soak it in clears up, it is safe for the tank. Pre-soaking will also saturate the wood so that it will sink to the bottom and not need to be weighted down. It can also be boiled in a large pot for 15 min increments, using clean water each time to release excess tannins and kill off any possible parasites. Large pieces can also be placed in the freezer for 72 hrs to kill off any possible parasites, you will still need to soak the pieces to release the tannins. The items that I sell have been completely dried out and sandblasted to minimize tannins and debris, but we still recommend pre-condition.

We Specialize in Manzanita Products for Aquariums, Planted Tanks, Aquascapes, Reptile enclosures, and Decorations. All of the items you see on this site have come off our property in the hills of Southern California . The area is off the beaten path and naturally pristine, no worries of chemical over spray here… There are over a 100 different species of Manzanita, we have 6 different types on our property alone, only a few are endangered and considered protected (none on our property) . In addition to the Manzanita Branches, our specific specialty is Manzanita Stumps, Manzanita root balls & burls, Chamise burls.
We have been doing business locally for the last 3 years, mostly to the local aquarium and reptile shops in San Diego County and more recently nationally and globally thur ebay. We are located in rural east county chaparral country on 40+ acres. The property is literally covered in several different species of Manzanita, Chamise, and other native chaparral plants. For years I was clearing and thinning the area around our home and destroying all the manzanita & chamise that were removed, by chance I learned about all the different uses for the manzanita branches and root balls & burls and decided it was time to live off the land…

If you have any special orders or need a specific size or design feel free to contact me.