snail shells as decorations?

holyherbiness

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Apr 7, 2004
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Hi guys!

So here I was, at my dinner table, eating these snails, when I realized how beautiful their shells were! (theyre big snails). Theyre these lovely leopard spotted shells that I thought would make a fine addition as a decoration to my 10 gallon tank

Would you recommend this? How could I clean it out? Some sort of bleaching solution, perhaps? Any help on what this is, advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I would say if your gonna use them either give them a good boiling or use bleech as you thought (just make sure to rinse them off loads of times to make sure theres no bleech left)

Shells can buffer your water, increasing its hardness but as long as you didnt cover the whole bottom of you tank in shells 1in deep you should be fine ;)

Whats in your 10g out of interest?
 
The harder your water, the less quickly they'll leach. I use a large snail shell per 10 gallons in planted tanks here in New York's very soft water, and the carbonicacid etches away that pretty surface quickly. Then it takes almost a year before the shell is entirely dissolved. The end is a pretty pearly white spiral.

Meanwhile, it's just enough to balance my pH at 6.6 - 6.8.
 
wetman, i'm located in new york's very soft water too.
how did you wash your shells?
and how long before they strip down?
 
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