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MrViper 
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 Topic: Sea Shells
Posted: May 18 2008 at 8:25pm |
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My daughter has some sea shells and piees of old coral that she has collected over the years that she wants to add to the tank. They have been cleaned and have no left over inhabitants. I do not see a problem placing decorative shells and pieces of coral, but then again you never know. What do you al think?
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Vipers look cool at a distant, but be careful of the bite..its a killer!
Still to many cool stuff not enough money
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SSpargur
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Posted: May 18 2008 at 9:05pm |
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I would boil them in a pot of water with a cap full of bleach first, let dry, then add back to your tank. Best be safe than sorry.
Edited by SSpargur - May 18 2008 at 9:06pm
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Sean Spargur
West Valley, UT
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MrViper
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Posted: May 18 2008 at 9:09pm |
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Thanks for the info. I will let her know. I do know that the shells have no inhabitants. They have been sitting on a shelf for a few years and some in jars. But I will have her do that.
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Vipers look cool at a distant, but be careful of the bite..its a killer!
Still to many cool stuff not enough money
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SSpargur
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Posted: May 18 2008 at 9:23pm |
It's not because of inhabitants, it's because of possible bacteria that you may be introducing into your system. You never know.
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Sean Spargur
West Valley, UT
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Mike Savage
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Posted: May 18 2008 at 11:34pm |
They will eventually cover up with algae and lose their pretty color too.
Mike
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superman1981
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Posted: May 19 2008 at 1:28pm |
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I tossed a bunch in my 125 after rinsing them in tap water, I haven't noticed any issues with them, but as Mike said they do cover in coraline algae... I also picked up a bunch of shells on the beach in Cali last year and tossed them in my tank. No ill effect that I have seen.
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Sure you are, you are Crappy Reef Club Member #1 -Chk4tix 6 gal nanocube 65 gal build thread
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IdahoReef
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Posted: May 20 2008 at 7:12pm |
 superman1981 wrote:
I also picked up a bunch of shells on the beach in Cali last year |
"Cali?" Sounds exotic. Never heard of such a place. OH!!! You mean CALIFORNIA.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: May 22 2008 at 11:11am |
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They will also eventually start to dissolve since they are made up of calcium carbonate. They will look cool for a while, but over years they will slowly disappear.
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MrViper
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Posted: May 22 2008 at 6:30pm |
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will that be beneficial or detrimental to the tank?
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Vipers look cool at a distant, but be careful of the bite..its a killer!
Still to many cool stuff not enough money
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SSpargur
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Posted: May 22 2008 at 6:48pm |
Releasing calcium carbonates into the tank is beneficial. It helps maintain your calcium levels, but it does so very very slowly. The disolving of shells, rock, and sand is extremely slow at the alkalinity we keep our tanks at, but it does happen slowly.
*note* this does NOT eliminate the need for dosing or testing of calcium.
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Sean Spargur
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Mike Savage
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Posted: May 22 2008 at 7:17pm |
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Will Spencer
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Posted: May 24 2008 at 9:51am |
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Sean is right, it disolves very slowly, but I just wanted to make the point that a beatiful shell will not be so beautiful after a few years in your tank even if you take it out and clean the algae and coraline growth off it.
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Cameron
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Posted: May 27 2008 at 3:23pm |
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Now that we are on the topic of calcium carbonate dissolving, and doing so slowly, i thought I should bring this up...http://www.livingreefs.com/forums/reef-talk/13956-deep-snad-bed.html
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