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british wood

Well, if you'll excuse the recently filled look and the mess of the plants, here's elder in a tank. Looks lovely, leeches for ages, and floats well to start with, but sinks now without being all that heavy and the leeching has slowed to a trickle, although it still hasn't stopped nearly a year later.

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With a close up of some detail, it has some lovely patterns in places.

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What about rosemary? I had a rosemary bush last summer that has died (I'm not very good with outdoor plants) and as a result, the branches are all dry and twiggy, will look nice :)
 
What about rosemary? I had a rosemary bush last summer that has died (I'm not very good with outdoor plants) and as a result, the branches are all dry and twiggy, will look nice :)

Funny you ask this as ive got a dead rosemary bush in my back garden so would be interested in the answer to this one
 
Apparently you can't use rosemary, the oil is toxic.

Shame :(

Have you got a source for that? Not being funny, just I've used several woods in the past that 'apparently' are toxic with no ill effects. I know rosemary has quite a lot of biologically active compounds in it, but I still suspect that if it's well dead and dry you shouldn't have much of an issue.
 
I can't find anything directly linked to using rosemary in the aquarium - my google-fu must be weak! Unless you mean you found that some of the biologically active components (eucalyptols, camphor etc) can be toxic? Very difficult (well, I find it very difficult, my plant biology is terrible) to know if these compounds would ever make it into the water in any sort of dangerous concentration. I've used spruce and ivy before, both of which contain plenty of compounds that would be toxic in sufficient concentrations, but in most cases this shouldn't be an issue if they wood is dead and dry.
 
Good examples, the only one I found was this one, but again, it's only opinion really

rosemary branch

I think I will chance it, the branches look nice :) and they are quite dead, so I'm sure all oil etc...has vanished.
 
I saw this thread on Tropical Fish Forums the other day when searching for info on driftwood. Not sure how reliable it is, but it may be of use:
'Safe' Woods and ones to avoid

Well I've had no problems using two of the ones in the 'definite no' list. You really need first hand evidence one way or the other, otherwise the same 'lore' just goes round and round in circles forever.
 
I seem to remember reading that Yew is ok, as long as it is long dead and dry. As you say Tom, I think this applies to nearly all woods.

I've used both oak and willow without any problems. The oak is a thick branch though, and is taking a hell of a long time to sink!
 
Hi all,
Thymol is the active anti-microbial compound in herbs like Rosemary, Lavender, Oregano etc. It isn't very soluble in water (but it is in alcohol) so I don't think much will leach out from dead wood. I know this because I had a colleague (Maidment, D.C), who extracted anti-microbial compounds from all sorts of things. The only problem I'd see is that the wood in Rosemary grows quite quickly, so it isn't very dense and will probably decay.

I haven't used Elder, but I've used Ivy, Buddleia and Box, and all 3 of them have extremely hard, dense heart wood at the bases of the trunk that sinks naturally. Ivy and Box are always quoted as "toxic" but they were both long dead and I didn't have any problems.

I use the "Daphnia bioassay", from this thread <Distilled / Deionised Water | UK Aquatic Plant Society>, if I'm not sure about wood, leaves, water etc.

cheers Darrel
 
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