oven bake clay center pieces

[joshcanfield]

ok so can't decide on what i want as a center piece for my tank. I want to make something so it is special. does any body know of oven bake clay is safe for fresh water aquariums? Oven bake clay like sculpey? is there any test I can do to tell if it has harmful chemicals in it?

 

[Mrc8858]

If you seal it first there's nothing to worry about and what kinds of fish will be enjoying your work of art...imo if done right a large mango root system would look pretty cool

 

[joshcanfield]

that's what i was thinking. I want to create lots of roots for my fish to swim around. so i thought maybe clay driftwood would work...it just seams to me that there is a lot of work in making your own aquarium safe drift wood and idk how long they actually last. I thought clay would hold up a little bit better.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ya clay would be permanent and probably the better way to go given the time and money put into it..it would be a whole lot of work but I know if you take your time and pay attention to detail it will be better then anything you'd buy cause obviously its exactly what you want....plus i know I like to always have some kind of project going on to keep me busy lol

 

[LyndaB]

When you look for clay, it should actually say "aquarium safe" on the label. Polymer clay is safe for aquarium use after curing. Sculpy and Fimo are two brands you might want to look at.

 

[Mrc8858]

If you wanted something real elaborate think about a 3D background and the roots to make it look like the edge of the river in the amazon or something

 

[joshcanfield]

I definitely like projects that keep me busy, and the amazon rive idear sounds sweet! The Hobby Store here sells sculpey so I will look in to the different kinds they have.

Edit: ok so I have read up on it a little bit and have deduced that as long as you cure it, it will be safe in the aquarium. here is some one who has had clay figures in their water and has had no negative effects... http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/aquafloats_pond.htm . so I will be creating a large root system and possibly a cave to hide my diy bio filter in and when i get a chance I will post a picture of them.

thanks for the advice everybody

 

[Mrc8858]

Lil tip for you if you decide to do it when making the roots make a wire frame for it if you didn't already know

 

[joshcanfield]

will do with the wire. ok so here is a site where they have had clay sculptures in the water for a while and have had no effects on the aquatic life so far. Putting polymer clay scuba diver in the fish pond so I will be doing a vast root system and possibly be doing a cave to hide my diy bio filter.

 

[Mrc8858]

Sounds sweet keep us posted with pics plz

 

[joshcanfield]

ok so here is the video of the DIY canister bio filter I made. DIY Biofilter - YouTube . I am still working on the clay drift wood and i will make a video for it when I am finished.