Mexican Orange Blossom Root

[Karmicnull]

Hey folks, we have just dug up a 20+ year old Mexican Orange Blossom bush (Choisya ternata), and I quite fancy adding the interestingly shaped root to my hardscape collection. A brief sift through the internet leaves me none the wiser as to whether this root is fish-safe or not, but the best approach seems to be:
(1) let it dry for 6 months+
(2) Remove bark
(3) soak it for a couple of weeks with regular WCs
(4) Good to go - how long it will last depends on hardness of wood

Does that sound about right? I'm wary that those are very generic instructions and don't take into account peculiarities of the specific wood (e.g. Salicylic acid in Willow, etc.).

Cheers,

Simon

 

[mort]

I had a quick Google as well and it doesn't appear toxic to anything so your plan seems like a good approach. I tend to leave wood I like in a water butt or something over the winter, as it will give you an indication of whether the wood will last in your tank and "mature" at the same time. Soaking it for a long time helps with leaching out of anything and can soften the bark, making it easier to prepare.

 

[Karmicnull]

Thanks @mort - I'll adapt my soaking phase to be a couple of months rather than a couple of weeks - the leaching point makes sense.

 

[not called Bob]

Try and get the bark off while it's still in the green, should speed up the rest curing and ensure there's less chance of any rot.

If you can hang it up out the way, all the better will have a nice breeze to dry it