Can This Wood Be Used For The Aquarium?

[VidVid]

Hey, i was just wandering what sort of woods can be kept in an aquarium? I think of driftwood as a piece broken off any tree trunk and managed to land in the water (thus becoming aquatic wood)...Is it as simple as this? I asked this because i found a branchy wood at a park that i collected and would like it as a decoration in my planted aquarium...FYI, its a piece of branch broken off a Eucalyptus tree (native to Australia)...Can this type of wood be kept in an aquarium after thourough preparation by soaking, boiling etc??? If not, why not???
Thanks for any replies...

 

[The-Wolf]

check out the wood link in my sig.
after reading it if you have any questions
ask away

 

[VidVid]

hey thanks...the sig helped...but in terms of the greenwood which i believe is the type that i got, how long will it take for sugars and starches to break down from the wood before you can place it in an aquarium??? Is their any treatment that would speed up or make the wood safe for aquarium use??? FYI, its a thin branchy sort (would this mean it would be faster to treat to make it safe for use???) Thanks again.
P.S. i believe the wood i got was a bit dead because taken from a believed to be dead tree. I also had another look at the branch and i splintered it a bit and scraped a bit of the wood off and unlike most trees that when splintered or scratched shows a bit of greenery, my wood shows no green at all, just brown... Does this suggest anything?

 

[nry]

Same question for me almost, I dried some finger-thick oak twigs in the oven for a good few hours on a low heat. They were 'green' as they had just been chopped down by a nice forestry chappy. I have had them in a fishless aquarium (waiting for plants etc etc) for about 1 month now: most have developed fungus/mould on them. Since I am in no rush to add fish, for now I am leaving them to soak. Soon I will lift them out and give them a good scrub then put them back in (after a water change): I'll then see how they go, I will not add fish until I am happy they have stopped growing fluffy stuff!

 

[confusion]

I would be careful if you've developed fungus on them. That could be bad for fish. Make sure you boil the wood for a good 30 minutes before adding to a tank with fish. As to the sugars and whatnot, I suspect keeping it in a bucket for several weeks will help to suck some of that out, but I'm not really sure. It may be one of those processes that just has to happen over time.

 

[RadaR]

1. Collect oak/beech twigs
2. Boil them
3. Dry them out for a few weeks in airing cupboard or next to radiator or a spare oven
4. Put in the tank
5. Stand back and admire your tank

 

[VidVid]

Thanks...
Radar - Can my twigs (dead eucalypt) be alright for my tank if i follow your steps???

 

[RadaR]

Thanks...
Radar - Can my twigs (dead eucalypt) be alright for my tank if i follow your steps???

Im afraid I wouldnt know. Sorry. Id play it safe and wouldnt use them if i didnt know. Perhaps you could write to PFK? That's how i know oak and beech are ok, I saw that someone had written in and asked what they could use that grew locally.