cleaning slate

[StreetCypher]

Three questions. Thanks in advance

1) Is scrubbing dirty slate enough to make it aquarium safe? Or do i have to soak it in bleach or whatnot?

2) Are non glazed ceramic tiles aquarium safe?

3) Has anyone ever used reptile sand as a substrate? Its black, quite fine and really dense. I was considering using it, but went for silica instead.

 

[RobUK]

Unglazed china, Terracota, cerramic tiles etc would not be the best idea in an aqaurium. remember that the materials in them mainly clay comes from the ground and is only molded and dried out to become an unglazed item so the water would turn it soggy after a while and it will pollute your tank terribly. The glaze makes sure the tile is waterproof and protected against the elements (inlculding fish nibbling and bacteria infestation)

I would think slate scrubbed and cleaned with a decent product (washing up liquid???) would be fine in a tank as it isnt poruos nor does it have cavaties to contain any nasties

Cant halp on substrate sorry, allthough I would guess if it was throughly cleaned and didnt contain any strange aditives or chemicals it would be fine

 

[happychem]

Unglazed pottery is fine. Many people have unglazed pots, I guess that's terracotta, in their aquariums as caves, myself included. The clay is still baked, it just doesn't have the glaze applied. The pots are very useful in decorating and java moss will attach to them in a matter of days, IME.

Scrub off the slate as best you can, give it a good rinse to get the dirt off. Then boil it for a good 5 minutes. That'll kill of anything that may otherwise be introduced into your tank. Nice and sterile.

 

[dwayne]

Happychem ~ what about those brown clay pots that you buy at like home depot for plants? Are they safe in a tank?

Spartan ~ I agree with Happychem, scrub, then boil, the slate. I wouldn't use anything other than bleach to clean the slate (and even then, I get nervous)...

~Tara

 

[jacblades]

i remember my dad telling me that he read terracotta wasnt safe for fish, yet he put a giant terracotta urn in one of our ponds. its been there for probably 7 years and i dont see any harm that it has caused.

 

[happychem]

Kind of an off orange/brown colour? That's what I'm talkin' about.

If they're made to hold plants, they'll be fine. Otherwise if you overwatered your plants the pots would fall apart! But I don't want to specifically say yes, it'll be ok then have it turn out not to be because we weren't talkin' about the same thing! So what I'll say is that based on what I've seen around garden stores, dollar stores, Home Depot, etc., they're good.

 

[dwayne]

happychem ~ them's the ones! I'm assuming they don't mess with ph or kh or anything like some 'certain' rocks do?!

 

[vato]

Terracotta is not harmful to fish, at least in my own experience. As far as the Slate goes I'd either (or both) boil it, or put it in a bleach bath. A Bleach bath is pretty easy, just soak your slate(or anything else for that matter) in a bucket and just dump some regular bleach in it. leave it for 4-5 hours, then empty the bleach water, and fill the bucket again, this time with WARM tap water, I'd repeat this about 2-3 times. Many pet stores like the one I worked in do this, and it's safe IF you get all the bleach out. The whole process should take about 2 days, but you'll know your tank and fish are safe. Also slate can sometimes contain substances that are harmful to fish, depending on where it is from. Try putting some vinigar and lemon juice(seperatly)on the surface, if iether one bubbles, DON'T put it in! That's about it. Good Luck!

 

[OrionGirl]

The lizard sand is usually calcium based, and often dissolves. Not good for most tanks, as it will spike the pH and make a tank cloudy.

I've used a variety of glazed and unglazed pottery and tile in my tank with no problems, no changes in parameters. The only problem I've had with the glazed pots is that they are very slick when wet and covered in bio-film--use caution when lifting the dang things out.