Scavenged Wood

[dougie]

Hi all,
I've seen many comments on scavenged wood and the act of stripping off the bark before adding it to tanks. Is there a reason for this other than the fact it'll probably decay quicker than the rest of the wood?
I've seen on various forums that some people bang it straight in, ensuring the wood is dead first obviously.
I scrounged one 5, one 4 & a 3 ft dead oak branch from a tree surgeon, cut straight from the tree, so I doubt there's anything nasty on it (as could be the case if on the floor or in a stream) .
One of the pieces still has a little bark left on it & looks amazing. Going to be a while before new tank is ready, so I'm in no hurry to prepare - they're hanging in my garage at the mo.
Does everyone take off the bark?
Cheers guys

 

[star4]

Big branches I strip off the bark, smaller stuff I leave the bark on. Larger oak branches have that really rough bark where many things can get trapped in, get a good stiff scrubbing brush and give it all a really good scrub then leave it to try right out for a few weeks and the bark falls off easily. I take the bark off the bigger stuff mainly because you never know what is trapped in it.