Can I use lead to weight down corner filter?

[MrNitrite]

I got Lee's corner filter for the 2.5 gal betta tank. If I use gravel to keep it from floating, I have to put so much in there there's not much room for media. What about using lead? Is it safe in the aquarium? If not, what would you recommend? I even tried a couple of small rocks, but it's still too light.

 

[fort384]

graphite fishing weights maybe? I would think lead would be bad.

 

[jsoong]

I wouldn't use lead ... that is toxic. You can use those plant weights for aquarium plants <they might be call plant lead, but are NOT made of lead>.

Maybe you just have to adjust things so the filter is not so light. <Eg. is there any air trapping that is making it float?> Perhaps you can use some heavier media (like ceramic rings) instead of sponges .... Another way is to glue the filter down to a big piece of slate (with silicone), that would weigh it down but not take up room inside the filter.

 

[bs6749]

Lead weights, are in fact made of lead. I don't know who told you otherwise but they are mistaken. Lead is a heavy, yet soft and malleable metal which makes them ideal to use as plant anchors and they are perfectly safe to use in an aquarium. They have been used for many years and haven't caused any problems. Lead is inert for the most part in water.

Wrapping lead around the filter base would be one way of anchoring the filter. Another way may be to use a suction cup with a small screw drilled through the center of it and stick that portion through the filter sponge or body of the filter if there is no sponge. You may even be able to find a suction cup or two that you can put around the tube of the filter if it has one. Yet another option involving suction cups would be to secure the airline tubing to the tank holding the filter in place. This would be a last resort though as I can see the filter wanting to rise to the sides instead of straight up.

 

[MrNitrite]

Thanks for the advice. I bought some eco friendly non lead weights at Academy. After a few hours, they started to rust! So back to Academy to buy an 8 oz lead fishing weight. Hope that works out.

 

[ezy33]

How about putting the lead in a plastic bag or in a seal-a-meal bag?

 

[bs6749]

How about putting the lead in a plastic bag or in a seal-a-meal bag?

What's the point if it is already inert in water?

 

[ezy33]

Ever hear about lead based paints?
IMO I wouldn't use any metals in a aquarium.
I kmow of companys using the lead out of old car batterys to make fishing weights. I wonder how pure the smelting/melting process they use makes the lead?

 

[bs6749]

Ever hear about lead based paints?
IMO I wouldn't use any metals in a aquarium.
I kmow of companys using the lead out of old car batterys to make fishing weights. I wonder how pure the smelting/melting process they use makes the lead?

Yeah, I've heard of lead based paints. Have YOU heard of HOW poisoning from lead based paints occurs in children??? It's not from eating paint chips, it is from ingestion of the lead DUST through the air or more commonly from putting their hands in their mouths in areas containing lead DUST. Lead DUST is a problem and is the number one cause of lead poisoning from deconstruction of old buildings. I will say again that lead is INERT in water, unless you have a really acidic pH and then SOME lead will dissolve. Only then will you have the lead particles that may harm your fish but it would take lots of acid in a buffered tank to lower the pH down far enough for that to happen, and even at that point it would take much time for the problems from lead to manifest.

You wouldn't use ANY metals in an aquarium? That's funny, because 80% of the known elements are metals. Things that are already in your water like sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, potassium, and so on and so forth.

 

[ezy33]

Yeah, I've heard of lead based paints. Have YOU heard of HOW poisoning from lead based paints occurs in children??? It's not from eating paint chips, it is from ingestion of the lead DUST through the air or more commonly from putting their hands in their mouths in areas containing lead DUST. Lead DUST is a problem and is the number one cause of lead poisoning from deconstruction of old buildings. I will say again that lead is INERT in water, unless you have a really acidic pH and then SOME lead will dissolve. Only then will you have the lead particles that may harm your fish but it would take lots of acid in a buffered tank to lower the pH down far enough for that to happen, and even at that point it would take much time for the problems from lead to manifest.

You wouldn't use ANY metals in an aquarium? That's funny, because 80% of the known elements are metals. Things that are already in your water like sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, potassium, and so on and so forth.

Wow! When I said I wouldn't use any metals in my aquarium I assumed we were talking about solid forms. Mainly ferrous metals that could oxidize in water. By the way is mercury inert?

It was before my time but lead was used in plumbing, canning and paint. While most lead paint poisonings where attributed to the ingestion of paint chips it's good to know it's really from dust. Don't forget to wipe the neck of the wine bottle after removing the (lead) foil wrapper and so on and so forth.

By the way putting a toxic lead weight in a bag, what would it hurt?

 

[ezy33]

Best to avoid aluminum, especially at moderately acidic pH levels: Aluminum (Al) and water

I recommend egg crate which you should be able to find at Home Depot or Lowes in the lighting section. It is also known as lighting deflector if you ask a worker there.

From another one of your posts about metal in water!

 

[bs6749]

Wow! When I said I wouldn't use any metals in my aquarium I assumed we were talking about solid forms. Mainly ferrous metals that could oxidize in water. By the way is mercury inert?

It was before my time but lead was used in plumbing, canning and paint. While most lead paint poisonings where attributed to the ingestion of paint chips it's good to know it's really from dust. Don't forget to wipe the neck of the wine bottle after removing the (lead) foil wrapper and so on and so forth.

By the way putting a toxic lead weight in a bag, what would it hurt?

Lead is nearly insoluble in water (everything will dissolve into water to a certain extent) so it remains a solid in the water just as when you put it in. The ionized forms of the metals are what appear in water. Put something like sodium chloride into water and you have a solution of ions present. Put something like sodium metal into water and you have, well, a big boom.

Yes, mercury in it's pure form is relatively inert, however it is very rarely found in it's pure form. Stuff like mercury bonded to one of the halogens, such as mercuric chloride, mercuric bromide, mercuric iodide, on the other hand is extremely toxic and very deadly.

 

[bs6749]

From another one of your posts about metal in water!

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that aluminum was lead! How foolish of me being a chemical engineer and all! Maybe I should go back to school, or maybe I have a far better understanding of the material than others and know what I'm talking about.

 

[Markstanfill]

I would assume a lead weight is fine in an aquarium. Water changes are done so frequently it shouldnt matter. Allthough the Romans used lead pipes and it is thought to have sparked birth defects and such. But we are talking about long long periods of time. I wouldnt worry about the lead weights.

 

[ezy33]

Again I'll ask whats the harm in putting the lead weight in a bag? While most of the lead weight is lead what is the eye made of? Could it be wire? If so what kind? Did the manufacture polish the weights? If so in what? Oil? Solvents? A fishing weight is almost disposable so why would it be made to be nontoxic in a enclosed environment?

 

[jsoong]

Lead weights, are in fact made of lead. I don't know who told you otherwise but they are mistaken.

After further research, it appears that what a "lead weight" is depends on where you live.

Lead will leech into the water & may be a problem <eg. lead solder in water supply is a problem, and it is banned here.>:
Lead - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki
Not only that, but lead is an environmental pollutant, so even if you can keep the levels low with a pwc, I don't think it should be used on that basis alone. <This is the rational for switching to non-lead gas.>

At any rate, lead is banned in the EU & many other country, but not in the US: [APD] Plant weights, lead, zinc, etc.
So "lead weights" (plant weights & fishing weights) in those countries are not made of lead.

In Canada, lead fishing weights had been banned since 1997. < http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/flf-psp/index_e.cfm >
Also, you might want to follow the links in the gov't site above to read about the environmental problems (death to wildlife) caused by lead fishing weights before putting real lead weights into your aquarium.

 

[Afternoon Snack]

As a biology major, I agree with bs6749. Lead weights in an aquarium of normal alkalinity are perfectly safe. I have studied the physiological effects of lead and know that it is considered toxic to humans and animals with various effects on neurological development among other things. That said, concentrations of dissolved lead in aquarium water will not reach toxic levels.

Concerns of lead poisoning are usually attributed to actual ingestion or inhalation of lead. When lead is eaten (as is the major concern with fishing weights and birds), the hydrochloric acid in an organisms stomach facilitates the dissolution and absorption of the lead; this can be toxic. When inhaled as dust or smoke (such as paint, burnt leaded gasoline, or smelted lead or solder) the high amounts of lead are put directly into the bloodstream and can be toxic.

Aquarium water cannot readily dissolve lead and the amounts of lead that do dissolve are not even close to toxic. Keep in mind that dissolved heavy metals are a normal component of the water in which these organisms evolved. So unless your fish are actually consuming the lead you put in your tank, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[kellyinvancouver]

I have to agree with those who don't see harm in lead. I use lead weights in my aquarium with no consequences. As for the plastic bag idea, yeah, I would be a lot more worried about any (unlikely, I might add) chemicals leaching from the plastic bag into the tank.