Contorted Hazel & river rocks?

[AceCreamSoda]

For my soon-to-be tank, I wad thinking of using contorted hazel, which I have a tree in my garden, and river rocks for natural decor.

The rocks were tested with vinegar and didn't react or fizz or anything. The bark on the hazel wood is really tight on the wood itself, but i think it looks really nice...

 

[Iain Sutherland]

river rocks are normally fine and youve tested correctly. Hazel im unsure of but certainly it will need to be very dead first and then peel off the bark. Darrel will likely know if its ok to use if its dead... he'll probably pop in...

 

[AceCreamSoda]

I'll see if I can put an image up...

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=29vyv5g&s=8#.VUunovlViko

The bark is really tight and the branches are thin, so I don't think I can easily strip it off.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Hazel im unsure of but certainly it will need to be very dead first and then peel off the bark. Darrel will likely know if its ok to use if its dead... he'll probably pop in...

The wood should be fine. Some Scandanavian plec keepers feed it to the Panaque etc.

I actually planted a corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana "Contorta") in the garden partially to collect wood from it.

The new twigs are really tightly curled, but the older wood just has a more subtle twist in it.

If you use twigs in your image (that have been cut for a while?) they should be all right with the bark on, although they will degrade over time, so you will need to replace them.

cheers Darrel

 

[AceCreamSoda]

Thank you both for the speedy replies!