Is this driftwood safe?

[Fishnerd360]

I found this driftwood months ago at a river, put it in my car and forgot about it. Remembered it and noticed it has cracks. Would this rot?

 

[Fishman Dave]

Most wood will rot in time but chances are that if you found it in a river already it will be safe to use. That said, to air on the side of caution I would use it on a tank with less expensive inhabitants first if it were me. But wood disintegrating under water is also enjoyed by a number of plecs assuming it is not of a safe variety. Hard to tell which tree it's from if it was already in the river.
Most of my wood is found this way and many of my much larger base pieces 20-30 kg have disintegrated to 10-15kg over 5-6 yrs.I
the piece you have actually looks burnt, that might be more of an issue?

 

[neontetraking]

to me it looks like it is burnt

 

[Fishnerd360]

I think I’ll just soak in a bucket or a empty 10 gallon for some time, test the water after a while, and see if it’s safe.

 

[kno4te]

How long was it in ur car? Soak it in a bucket and let what’s in it leech out.

 

[Fishnerd360]

It was in my car for around 2-3 months.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Will take a couple of weeks to absorb water and sink again maybe a little more, or rather to stop being bouyant.
Certainly an interesting piece though.

 

[Fishnerd360]

So far tiny pieces came off, no tannins, will probably find something safer as I want to be safe if it was burnt. Might used this as decoration for my frog or geckos.