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Re: Cedar



Beverly writes:

><snip> all these trees have a reputation for resisting rot even when
wet.<snip>
>>
A side note about its rot resistance.  About 5 yrs. ago I read an article in
the newspaper about a water main leak in Philadephia.  When the city water
dept. started digging, they discovered that the leaking main was made of wood.
Seems the first water mains run in Philly were made of hollowed out cedar
logs, sealed at the joints with some kind of pitch.  No one, it seems, was
able to detirmine exactly when these logs were buried and filled with water,
but it was at least a hundred years.  And they are still in service, since no
one really knows for sure where in the system they all are.  I'm sure the
enigmatic aromatics have all seeped out by now.

So, yesterday (Tuesday) I was hearing that cedar is okay, and perhaps even
beneficial.  Now there seems to be some strong contrary evidence.  I guess we
need to figure out whether we are talking true cedars or other arbor-vitaes.
Any idea what group of professionals we might contact for some clarification?
If some of them are good for the fish, I'd like to get some.  But if we can't
figure out which are good, which are bad, or whether it has a serious effect
on terrestrial life but not aquatic, then I'll sit back and continue to listen
to Grandma until we can sort it out.  It seems to me there is some validity
running in both directions, and the answers are probably related to which
species or genus you have in your tank.

Bob Dixon