View Full Version : Why can't I use reptile decor in aquarium?
tranceFusion
11-06-2007, 1:43 PM
The "All Living Things" branded reptile decor made from resin at Petsmart all say they are"Not recommended for fish tanks". Any idea why?
Thanks!
darkcirca
11-06-2007, 2:14 PM
Could be what they are sealed with, it could leach out into the tank. Personally I don't use any of those things for a saltwater tank, don't want to risk the salt eroding the item, or chemicals coming off. I had an aquarium truck in my tank to begin with, nothing grew around it. Once I took it out, life came back there. Guess there was something fishy about it in the end.
Now for "All Living Things", I own a lot of there reptile products, sometimes they are coated in certain areas, and some things are made out of stuff you wouldn't want to put into your fish tank..I'd just avoid all these things together.
tranceFusion
11-06-2007, 3:21 PM
so are you saying that you avoid even the aquarium decor for salt water tanks?
Sonicblast12
11-06-2007, 3:23 PM
I didn't listen, and put a reptile plastic log in a freshwater tank and it softened and became plyable. Who knows what it leached into the water during that process.
Don't do it, not worth it.
darkcirca
11-06-2007, 3:24 PM
so are you saying that you avoid even the aquarium decor for salt water tanks?
Yes. I feel they take away the beauty of a saltwater tank. I don't trust them either. Just because something says it is "safe" and can be used in saltwater, doesn't mean it'll last. Some of those things are cheap, and in the end can cause issues.
I looked at the fake corals and all those things, just rather spend the money and put the real things in. The fake stuff here costs more than something real..
joander123
11-06-2007, 5:11 PM
Liverock fish sand and corals are all you need... dont worry about decor =).
darthgoby
11-06-2007, 5:40 PM
Regardless of what is made out of, I wouldn't recommend using any of that fake coral or other decorations in a tank.
The main problem is that the stuff gets dirty with algae, detritus, etc. On live rock, that kind of stuff looks cool. On decorations, it just makes them look like crap.
I know this because I bought a bunch of decorations for my tank when I first got it earlier this year. At first they looked okay but then they started to get dirty. After about 3-4 weeks they got really dirty. Since they were too dirty, I just took them out of the tank.
So, they aren't worth the trouble and don't end up looking that good so I wouldn't recommend them to anybody.
tranceFusion
11-06-2007, 8:59 PM
I actually have two brackish tanks. dead corals just don't fit so well into that look :(
I guess I'll go for real wood, but it has its problems too..
so are you saying that you avoid even the aquarium decor for salt water tanks?
A lot of FW decor is marked that it isn't safe in a SW tank. FW fish can take stuff that a marine tank can't and the SW is going to react differently as well.
I actually have two brackish tanks. dead corals just don't fit so well into that look :(
I guess I'll go for real wood, but it has its problems too..
Are you using wood in one of your brackish tanks or a SW tank?
tranceFusion
11-06-2007, 11:54 PM
Are you using wood in one of your brackish tanks or a SW tank?
Right now I have a mudskipper tank with a few fake plants, sand banks, and a couple turtle docks. I want to add some additional decor for them to crawl on/hide under, etc, as well as make it look more natural so i wanted to add some wood - either fake or real. As far as real wood goes, driftwood breaks down in saltwater and the only wood that will work acceptably is Mopani wood. The problem is it goes for $50-$80 for a relatively small piece and I haven't yet found one that is worth me spending that much.
All of the fake decor made for fish tanks have open holes all over it to allow it to fill with water. This is cool if the item is fully submersed but with mudskippers, I am afraid they will fall in a hole and not be able to get out since the piece won't be submerged. There are tons of great perching type decor pieces built for reptiles, but they all say not to use in fish tanks.
My other tank I just setup brackish and am getting it ready for a puffer. I spent like 50 bucks on fake driftwood and stuff so I am hoping that it doesn't fall apart..
You'll find that almost 100% of the brackish questions get asked in the single brackish forum. The rest of the marine forums tend to deal with SW.