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In defense of cedar
I had a gnarly cedar stump in my aquarium (Juniperus asheyi--Ashe
juniper, from Austin TX) for three years with absolutely no ill
effects. I found the stump partially buried and looked like it had
been dead for years. I soaked it outside in plain water (no bleach)
for 6 weeks until it sank, then I placed it in my 90 gal tank. Of
course, it stained the water for 4-6 months, but that looked pretty
cool. (Perhaps if cedar is still "green" it would cause problems).
My Ancistris lived under the stump for three years, where he went from
a "cute" 3 inches to a gargoyle-like 7 inches. Java moss grew very
well on the stump. Other plants (especially Vals) grew well in the
tank. The Ancistris and my false SAE grazed on the cedar the whole
time, keeping it algae-free. They seemed to prefer the cedar over the
aquarium glass.
There were no unexplained deaths in the tank during this time. My
Ancistris, false SAE, angelfish, lemon tetras, and black tetras spent
three years with the stump and are still going strong. The only
reason I got rid of the stump was to make room for more plants!
Cedar does not rot, so it obviously has some means of
repelling/killing some bacteria and fungi. Same goes for cypress. I
submit that these two woods are more desirable in an aquarium than
wood that does rot (like the "driftwood" you can buy at an aquarium
shop that is actually a grapevine!)