What wood makes a good "driftwood"?

[Cloud-9]

Hi,

I've got all kinds of trees in my yard. Pecan, Oak, Maple, Beech, Holly, etc. Can I cut down a limb from any of these, clean out the bark, scrub it with salt, soak, and then make "driftwod" out of it? Any help or ideas will be helpful. I've never done this sort of thing before. But, I want to choose the size and the shape to use for a very small 5.5 gallon tank.

I think the Holly is so dense that it might not require a big stone to make it sink.

Thanks

 

[Raskolnikov]

Fresh/live wood would not work as tank decor in the long run. Driftwood has been dead for a long time (100's of years for many pieces), and it died in an environment that inhibited the breakdown of the wood by microorganisms, such as a desert or ocean water. If you use fresh wood in your tank, it will begin to rot and cause problems for you.