how can you tell hardwood from soft by looking?

[bobc4d]

say you were walking down a creek and found a piece of "driftwood". how could you tell if it is hard or soft or correct stuff for your aquarium?

I did a search and there were some explanations but nothing definitive. I can't tell oak from cedar from pine just by looking. are there hard a fast rules on telling if it is aquarium rated hardwood?

 

[Zimmanski]

say you were walking down a creek and found a piece of "driftwood". how could you tell if it is hard or soft or correct stuff for your aquarium?

I did a search and there were some explanations but nothing definitive. I can't tell oak from cedar from pine just by looking. are there hard a fast rules on telling if it is aquarium rated hardwood?

Sorry I can't help ya, hopefully someone can I'd like to know too. I paid $10 for a stick yesterday at the LFS haha

 

[armymp327]

ive always been told to bang it against something and if it falls apart then its soft wood, if not then you have hardwood. dont really know how try that it is though lol

 

[butterfly_koi]

When telling the difference between hardwoods and softwoods it's all in the grain pattern.
Softwoods will have a larger grain pattern due to faster growth and hardwoods will have a smaller closer grain pattern due to slower growth.



See how the grains in the wood are close together? This is a hardwood



This is a grain from balsa wood. Notice how the grains are farther apart, this is a softwood.

 

[armymp327]

When telling the difference between hardwoods and softwoods it's all in the grain pattern.
Softwoods will have a larger grain pattern due to faster growth and hardwoods will have a smaller closer grain pattern due to slower growth.

View attachment 168678

See how the grains in the wood are close together? This is a hardwood

View attachment 168679

This is a grain from balsa wood. Notice how the grains are farther apart, this is a softwood.

well i have never known that, and that is very useful information, thank you!

 

[Cactuspixie]

When telling the difference between hardwoods and softwoods it's all in the grain pattern.
Softwoods will have a larger grain pattern due to faster growth and hardwoods will have a smaller closer grain pattern due to slower growth.

:thumbsup: I do so like a scientific explanation!
Thankyou. It's better than my thumbnail method- if I can get my thumbnail in its softwood, if I break my thumbnail, its hardwood. Lol

 

[jlk]

Actually, the difference between hardwoods and softwoods has nothing to do with density of wood but is based on how they reproduce. Angiosperms/hardwoods reproduce via a fruit or covered seed such as a walnut or pear. Gymnosperms/softwoods release seeds into the air. Generally, hardwoods lose their leaves in the cold while softwoods such as evergreens or pine do not. There's actually a few apps that can ID a tree based on its leaves, bark and branching patterns if your seeking a specific type of wood.

 

[butterfly_koi]

^ This is true ^
But if your just walking down the creek bed and find a piece, it can be difficult to figure out which tree it came from. Looking at the grains of the wood is a trick used in woodworking. By looking at markings, bark, smell of the wood, even taking note of the grain lines (some woods have a curvy/wavy lines) it can be easy to identify a piece.

 

[Dudeman]

Is this good for my aquarium?


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[Minato]

I got most of my log from nearest park, basically it have to be totally dried out, then I boil it in salty water I also add parazin tablets etc... For several hours and then let the log do release most of its tannin (brownish colour) change water ... For another week, my pleco loves it, it will eventually cause the water to change colour slightly, but tannin is healthy for fish as long as it's kept at minimum level (carbon filter)


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[CleverBs]

I use drift wood from canada. I go up there every year and when I am there I bring back some nice big peices of drift wood. Are they hard wood idk im guessing not because even when soaked they still float. I however take them and screw them to a stone tile and then put the sand over top of that and it keeps it down.