a tale of 2 driftwood

[jarthel]

found this one about 500meters from the house. It's almond.

I was out with my son in the playground when I came across a huge branch that has fallen/cut down. I was able to bring home this piece. I left another piece there because it won't fit the back seat.

which one would you choose?

thank you

 

[TBRO]

Looks a bit fresh. It may leak a lot of tannins etc. I´ve put wood with bark in tanks before and got a weird kind of fungus on it. I suspect it will be annoyingly boyant aswell.

Probably OK but don`t Almonds contain cyanide?!

I think if your gonna use it make sure it´s well soaked for several weeks or look for wood that has been on the bottom of a pond or river already. As an ex-angler I was always pulling out great pieces of bogwood in frustration when my hook got snagged. Know any friendly fishermen/women ? T

 

[Dave Spencer]

I have used wood from an Almond grove in Spain, but the wood had been dead and bleached in intense sun for a good while when I picked it up.

I agree with TBRO in that your wood doesn`t look sufficiently dead and dry. I usually pick up branches that have lost all their bark.

Dave.

 

[jarthel]

the 2nd wood looks recent and I believe it is recently cut down. But the almond branch came from a tree that has been dead for years.

Do I need to remove the bark to be sure?

thanks again

 

[TBRO]

It may be good for giving that Amazon biotope look with neons swimming through it (see George's Cambodian pool), I think it may not look right as part of a planted scape.

If you use it give it a good soak first. If the bark comes off easily that would be ok but probably best to avoid whittling it away with a penknife.

Only you can judge what looks right in your tank at the end of the day. I doubt any serious harm will occur from using it (bark or no bark) apart from staining the water, which can give you that blackwater look. After all rivers are chock full of branches in various states of decay. Have Fun T