Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Is it safe to use real ocean sea shells in a saltwater aquarium?

The only info I was able to find was for fresh water aquariums.

Is it safe to use real ocean sea shells in a saltwater aquarium?
It should be fine it you sterilize it. The only issue might be if the shell degraded, and put more calcium in the water. In a salt are tank I doubt this would be a big issue unless it a whole lot of shells.
Reply:I don't see why not!! Make sure that the shells are well cleaned and that there are no rough or sharp edges that the fish could catch themselves on (you could use sandpaper on the shells if they are quite rough). Otherwise, you should be fine!! Good luck!!
Reply:I agree with the last post above mine. If your tank is 20 gallon or above and has been setup for at least 6 months i would just toss it in. At the very least, rinse the shell out and make sure you get what you can out of it but if it came from the ocean i cant imagine there would be anything in there that could be a threat to an established reef tank. Your snails will clean it up if there is anything in there so no worries.
Reply:Yep you can.



I don't know how old your tank is, but if you are taking the shells directly from the ocean, you do not have to clean them either. There can be a small window for unwanted organisms, but highly unlikely. Just toss them in.



The benefit from this practice is you can BOST your healthy bacteria in your tank. You can also get lucky and find you added a crab, conch, small starfish, brine or regular baby shrimp or other cridders.



I never wash anything I bring home from the ocean before putting it in my tank. I keep it in a cooler and place everything including the water directly into my tank. I have accidently brought home baby blue crabs, feather dusters, shrimp, small starfish and a chonch.
Reply:First U have to make sure that it is clean before U use it. By that U have to sterilize it.

Soak it in hot water with bleach for a week, then put it out in the sun for a week to make sure that all of the bleach is gone. You have to smell it first to make sure that U cannot smell any bleach. Once the smell is gone, then it is safe to put into the tank. This should be done before U put any fish into the tank.
Reply:Sure. Just check out your local oceanarium / Underwaterworld. They all have shells. Where do you think they came from?



If you do, make sure that the inhabitant is no longer present. You don't want bacteria and other nasties in the water because there was something dead in the shell. You also want to give it a good thorough cleaning and then dry it in the sun for a day or more.



If the shells are clean and dried out so that there are no residues, chemicals, or nasties, then you can use them in salt or fresh water aquariums regardless of where the shells came from.
Reply:I'm pretty sure its safe, just make sure you boil it first (to make sure there are no bacterias or the such) make sure its a more smooth shell though, not a spiky one (cuz that'd be stupid esp. if you had bottom feeders) My biggest recommendation though is to go to your local pet store and ask.

arenas

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