clay pots?

[Evil_angel_fish]

would I be able to use clay pots in my tank as hiding space? if so is there any specifications as to what I need to do to it? I have old used ones but I have never put anything but PVC in the tank from around my hosue.

any other house hold things I can use as deco?

 

[RobUK]

There fine. as long as there glazed (or you'll tint your water)

A scrubbing with something like washing up liqiud or bleech (if you wanna go OTT) is fine. Just make sure to wash all the cleaing solution off.

My parrot fish love there pot, they spend most of there time in it at the moment

 

[kikuchiyo]

Ones used as flower pots may contain insectides or other nasties you don't want in your tank. Use new ones and you'll be fine.

 

[heat]

Go with new pots not used. I've used unglazed pots and bottom dishes and have never had a water tint problem in the 3 years the pots/dishes were in my tanks.
My africans loved them all.
You can even go so far as to make caves with smaller entrances for the littler fish to hide in if you have any aggression issues. Simply popping out the bottom with the drain hole in it carefully (flat head screwdriver and small mallet work) and silicone a matching dish (the clay dishes to catch water when used with plants) to the original top/large opening.

 

[TKOS]

Yes, those standard clay unglazed reddish pots work great. No colouring of the water. You can break the bottom out of the and file it down to make little tunnels. They come in all sizes. Perfect little things.

In fact I would almost say to stay away from glazes. As flower pots aren't meant to hold food there is no laws about what can be used in the glazes. And leads and other heavy metals often find their way into those glazes.

 

[RTR]

I agree strongly with TKOS - new unglazed terra cotta is many times as safe as glazed pots, unless those are certified safe for food use - which is very, very rare.

 

[dwayne]

I bought this (unglazed!) clay pot at Home Depot for $4, tied Java Moss onto it, and filled the bottom with some gravel... my water parameters didn't change at all. I rinsed it out in hot water before adding to the tank. My cories like to zip in and out of it, and my pleco likes to rest on top of it...

~Tara