Foraging “driftwood”

[DrTracy]

I’m setting up a 55 gallon South American tank for angelfish,tetras ,otos a few other species. Hopefully a couple of dwarf chichlid species or Ivanacara bimaculata.
I would like to use my extensive hardwood forest (Southeastern North Carolina) to forage for some wood. I have lots of oak,sweet gum,muscadine grapes,azaleas,camellias,rhododendrons,magnolias,hickory,tulip trees and miscellaneous. I own 23 acres of woods with a creek and swamp along with a little higher dry ground with other species. I can also forage in local swampy areas and blackwater rivers with cypress.
Which deadwood would you recommend and how do you like to prepare it?
I’m hoping to make a fairly natural looking riverbank with a root stump or two,plenty of branches and lots of leaf litter. I will use Amazon swords for most of the plants with a few others added for interest such as a crinum and red lily. I plan on monstera,philodendron,and other emmersed plants on top,along with some hanging moss that I gathered on a recent trip to Florida.
I can use my pressure washer,sand the wood,boil smaller pieces or just soak in a tub. I have time to let it age once put into the tank.
Any tips or tricks? I’ve been ruling out anything too green or too far rotted.

 

[Mike Wise]

I've used many types of wood from sagebrush to cedar stumps (I don't recommend it but my neon tetras were constantly spawning in the dark tea-colored water). My only suggestion is to use only downed, deadfall, wood and test them after treating with some fish that you can accept losing if something is wrong.

 

[MacZ]

Any deciduous tree will work, stay away from coniferous trees (they often have high amounts of tenacious resin causing fouling) and evergreens (often poisonous). If the wood is foul, toss it, otherwise the older and more weathered, the better. You want wood that has the least amounts of sugary sap and nutrients in it, if possible. Watering is always a good idea, be it to flush out sap residue or to get it to sink.

Stay clear of wood in swamps (peat bogs are ok, but the stuff you would want will be unreachable without draining the whole thing), waterways and coastlines.