Wire in fake plants - safe?

N

nikirushka

AC Members
Jan 28, 2013
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I'm setting up two smallish tanks for breeding/fry rearing purposes (20g and 15g). I want to put a lot of plants in both, but I don't like aquarium plants - I prefer to use artificial silk plants for home decor. I like how they look, I can find them second hand so often a lot cheaper, especially the garlands - I got 5 huge ivy garlands for £2.50 two years ago!

Anyhoo, I digress. So far, I've snipped off the sections on these garlands that are wired, just in case, and I've done that again today with some leafy branches I found. But I wanted to find out - would the wire actually be harmful to the fish?

Doesn't matter really, I'm just curious, although it would give me more to choose from as some are wired right through.
 
That largely depends on exactly is going in to the tank, and what the wiring is made of. Many inverts can't handle lots of copper in the water, so if the wire is copper, it's going to leach into the water and potentially kill the inverts. No matter what stocking is, it'd be safest if it was some kind of chemically inert wiring.
 
If these fake plants were not intended for aquarium use they could be a problem.

I've not heard of problems with name brand aquarium decor.
 
Most wiring used in fake plants for the home are not made for being placed in water. Thin steel wire is cheaper then stainless steel and since it's withing the plant stainless steel would be a waste for the company who made your plants. The wiring would begin to oxidize (rust) and that could be harmful to your fish.
 
FreshyFresh said:
If these fake plants were not intended for aquarium use they could be a problem.

I've not heard of problems with name brand aquarium decor.
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Yeap, I agree.

GEV83 said:
Most wiring used in fake plants for the home are not made for being placed in water. Thin steel wire is cheaper then stainless steel and since it's withing the plant stainless steel would be a waste for the company who made your plants. The wiring would begin to oxidize (rust) and that could be harmful to your fish.
Click to expand...

Yeap. Same.
 
:iagree: also, these three words are always worth taking into consideration: Made in China
 
Just go straight plastic, no wire. I have also bought plastic plants attached to a plastic rock that had wire in them from a big box pet store. They started to rust where the wire was exposed. I could imagine that water will get in the plastic eventually and "oxidize".
 
Fair enough, I figured that would be the case which is why I've always been careful up til now.

Re. the dyes - I soak anything I get for a couple of weeks before it goes in a tank and I have carbon in the filter for a little while too, just to be on the safe side but I've never had any problems.

Ta :)
 
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