wood suitability in an aquarium

[jarthel]

I was with my son playing this morning in the playground and I saw a huge branch has fallen/cut down. I had a look and there are some amazing piece I could get. I went back in the afternoon and was able to bring home a nice piece. I put it in the tank and it looks good. It's much larger to the ones I've shown here. the vertical branches reach will be higher than the water line.

Looking at the new wood and thinking of how to set it up, I thought of it's suitability in an aquarium (i.e. I do not want to suddenly rot). It's doesn't seem to be hardwood or softwood. I tried bending some of the smaller twigs (about 1cm to 1.5cm in diameter) and it doesn't bend easily.

How do I know if wood can be submerged without worry? Maybe I shouldn't be worried at all?

thank you very much

ps. I searched the net and the forums but can't find what I'm looking for.

 

[frothhelmet]

I have tried various wood for use in tanks. In my experience the wood will always rot unless the wood was either originally a piece of root (branches will rot) or if the wood was a branch and has had many many years to degrade in water, looking holey and leaving only the hard resistant bits. Others on this forum say they have had success adding various hardwoods directly to their tanks. I can't comment on this since I have not tried it.

What I do if I am unsure is stick the wood submerged in a cooler with a heater set to max and wait. If it gets covered by fungus in a week or two it is unacceptable, if not, the wood has probably become water-logged and is ready to go. Hope that helps.