Can I put this in my tank???

[Ge-off]

So I just bought my tank and it was used as a FW tank before. It came with some tank decor. One of the pieces is a rather large fake piece of coral. Can I use this in my FOWLR tank? There is a hole in the bottom of it that I am afraid might trap water and cause some bacterial growth. Should I just stay away from it? It would just save me a few bucks worth of live/base rock

Here are the pics of it:

 

[Zer0]

You can use it.. but it won't serve as any means of filtration when your tank becomes established, like live rock would. It would just get covered with algae and corraline, and stay that way forever, serving no other purpose besides maybe a cave or perching place for inverts or blennies lol. But if you are going to have a FOWLR tank.. then you will already have live rock.. so why need this? These sort of things go in like fish only systems.. lol.

If you are going to use it though.. i would suggest bleaching it. Just in case there is any things on it that you would definitely not want in your tank. Just for precautions.

 

[Ge-off]

Cool, I know it won't serve any purpose besides a hiding spot but with my budget I wont be able to stack tons of live rock so this will help fill some holes How do I bleach it? Just do a super diluted water bleach solution and clean it? Thanks for the help!

 

[mfdrookie516]

bleach it with a 10:1 solution, then rinse it very good and soak it in a bucket with lots of dechlor in it... then let it sit for a few days before adding.

 

[Zer0]

bleach it with a 10:1 solution, then rinse it very good and soak it in a bucket with lots of dechlor in it... then let it sit for a few days before adding.

+1

Exactly like that.

 

[Ge-off]

Ok I will do that... Dechlor is that the same as a tap water conditioner? I have that but if its different I'll go buy some. Also the holes in the bottom had me worried, because I read somewhere that the water in the holes do not move enough and cause bacteria to grow. Is this ok??

 

[mfdrookie516]

Dechlor is a chemical that removed chlorine/chloramine from tap water, like prime, amquel, stresszyme, etc...

 

[Ge-off]

Ok... My tank hasn't started cycling yet, is it still important for me to let this sit for a few days in a bucket of water and dechlor??

 

[mfdrookie516]

yes, the dechlor will remove the bleach from it... if not, you will have lots of chlorine in your tank, not good, especially if youre starting a cycle as chlorine kills bacteria, the reason they put it in tap water and swimming pools

 

[mdaniel2882]

You can use it.. but it won't serve as any means of filtration when your tank becomes established, like live rock would. It would just get covered with algae and corraline,

It will become live and serve the same purpose as LR. The reason we use LR is becaues it is porous and has lots of surface area.

 

[thincat]

Not so, As Zer0 said that looks man made and not porus at all. almost like potery. No place except the surface area to colinize on...not much and a waste of space. It will not add to your filter system. If you like it's looks then go for it. For it's looks and not for more filter area.

 

[mdaniel2882]

Not so, As Zer0 said that looks man made and not porus at all. almost like potery. No place except the surface area to colinize on...not much and a waste of space. It will not add to your filter system. If you like it's looks then go for it. For it's looks and not for more filter area.

That is what I said. purely speaking Live means it has bacteria growing on it. It will....just not much surface area.

 

[thincat]

That's great, we're on the same page.

 

[abrahamavelar]

or just boil it for a few mins like 3 to 5

 

[Zer0]

As stated before, you could boil it. But it wouldn't be as safe and efficient as bleaching it. Bleaching will absolutely exterminate anything, so its best to bleach it.

 

[Ge-off]

Thanks for all the info everyone! I ended up not using the piece in my tank because it was too wide, took up too much room. I will remember what to do in case I have to add anything else into my tank.