Penn-Plax Plant Anchors safe?

[7Enigma]

Hi everyone,

My puffer tank at work is a bare-bottom with anubias as the plants. If you have anubias you know they are the life-preservers of the plant world and unless anchored down WELL, will float to the surface. It wasn't much of a problem before because I could use the sand to help anchor but now with the bare-bottom it's just not working.

I'd like to get these Penn-Plax anchors but they say right on the box they are made from lead. Is this safe in my puffer tank? I know scaleless fish tend to deal less well with heavy metals and so I'd like to make sure these are truly non-toxic.

Maybe they are coated with something which makes the outer metal not lead?

Thanks for your help!

linked from BigAlsonline (hope this is allowed)

 

[Blueiz]

They are fine for the tank. If you don't want to go that route, get some rocks and rubberband the plant around them..

 

[BigJim]

+1 on them being fine. The lead doesn't dissolve into the water. The biggest issue I found with the Penn-Plax anchors is they're pretty light. I had to clip a split-shot fishing weight to one to keep down a small bunch of myrio.

 

[7Enigma]

+1 on them being fine. The lead doesn't dissolve into the water. The biggest issue I found with the Penn-Plax anchors is they're pretty light. I had to clip a split-shot fishing weight to one to keep down a small bunch of myrio.

Thanks for the comment. I'm still somewhat confident it's probably coated lead (like tin or something on the outer layer), but I think it's worth a shot.

Thanks as well for the comment about the weight. I think I'll either get 2 packs or do something similar with adding weights as I swear anubias is the densest ballon I've ever seen.

 

[mgamer20o0]

better idea is to just tie them down to wood or rocks. it will look a lot better.

 

[7Enigma]

better idea is to just tie them down to wood or rocks. it will look a lot better.

That's also a good idea. I'd prefer wood, but my concern is that the anubias is so buoyant it might make the wood float! Rocks I worry about with a bare-bottom tank. One mistake and crack....water on the floor.

Thanks.

 

[cbwmn]

I’ve used these for years. The only problem is they get lost in the substrate when the stems are uprooted.
They do get a white build up (calcium?) after awhile.
Also, even though they say lead, I don’t believe they are lead. I read somewhere that they are a zinc alloy. In case some of the metal leaches into to water; regular PWC’s will keep the levels low.
I’d like to find the anchor material in a 10 ft long roll in the USA. The suppliers in UK advertise them in that form.
Why don’t you use a substrate with puffers?
I don’t have any Anubias but I’ve read they do well when tied to a rock or driftwood. Also if the buoyancy of the plant causes the wood to float, it must be a very small chunk of wood.

Charles

 

[7Enigma]

I used to have pool filter sand in the puffer tank but got rid of it due to difficulty with cleaning. Puffers are messy eaters and shell debris and snail guts not eaten tend to cause problems when they work their way into the sand a bit. I've had a bad case of BGA in the tank for the last 8months or so and am still trying to avoid treating the water with antibiotics. Manual removal seems to keep it at bay relatively well but I just can't eradicate it. The BGA will grow like a spider web on all surfaces and when it starts on the sand it's a real nightmare to get rid of.

I've about had it with the BGA though and am seriously considering a chemical approach with one of the antibiotics.

And until you have some anubias for yourself you won't understand just how much these guys like to float. I'm currently using pieces of GRANITE to keep them down. This is only a 10 gallon tank so it would take a pretty large piece to keep all of the anubias at the bottom.

 

[cbwmn]

I used to have pool filter sand in the puffer tank but got rid of it due to difficulty with cleaning. Puffers are messy eaters and shell debris and snail guts not eaten tend to cause problems when they work their way into the sand a bit. QUOTE]

Use a coarser substrate and gravel vac or increase the filtration. More plants?

QUOTE]I've had a bad case of BGA in the tank for the last 8months or so and am still trying to avoid treating the water with antibiotics. QUOTE]
I’ve heard that Myracyn will help. What is the NitrAte level. Low NitrAte levels cause BGA. Anubias are very slow growing, and more prone to BGA. More plants to use up nutrients.

QUOTE]And until you have some anubias for yourself you won't understand just how much these guys like to float. I'm currently using pieces of GRANITE to keep them down. This is only a 10 gallon tank so it would take a pretty large piece to keep all of the anubias at the bottom.

You’ve got to be kidding. I have a small piece of driftwood with needle leaf java fern on it. I think it would hold down a small fishing float:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/cbwmn/For%20sale/

Good luck
Charles

 

[7Enigma]

Your tags are messed up in your last post so I'm having a tough time reading what you wrote. But basically I like the bare-bottom look in this tank. I have massive filtration for the tank (Aquaclear20 on the 10 gallon) and the tanks only inhabitant is the dwarf puffer.

Myracyn is one of the antibiotics I'm looking into, I just really wanted to avoid using them in the tank. The nitrAte level is likely zero for most of the time. Since the puffer is the only fish in the tank she doesn't produce much waste, and the bulk of the nitrogen probably comes from the rotting snail carcasses in between water changes.

Java fern is a dense plant that does not float on it's own. In fact I have a couple in my 20 gallon at home that aren't even attached to anything. I just plop them down where I want (under the cover of other faster growing plants) and they stay in place unless my BN pleco makes a mess of the tank.

For some reason my photolocker.net account is screwed up (click on either of the links in my sig and you'll see what happens), but my tank is full of anubias. I have 5 individual plants that each are about the size of a softball so they cover the tank pretty well. I found an old piece of driftwood I got from the shore a couple years ago, had boiled, then let stand in water for a month to sink, but never used. It's dry now so would take a while to sink again but that piece is about the length of the tank and about an inch and a half in diameter which *might* hold all of the plants down.

I think you should get a small anubias just to see. They are beautiful, require virtually no care, and act as living caves for aquatic life (in that they grow so slowly they are less of a plant and more of a static decoration).

 

[cbwmn]

If your nitrAtes are zero,I think that's the cause of your BGA.
I just posted on another forum about BGA in my tank. That's the cure most ppl suggest. Put a little KNO3 into your water.
Charles

PS: I'm PMing you with the links to my threads on BGA.

 

[7Enigma]

Thanks for the links and advice. I occasionally use KNO3 in my 20gallon tank (not so much since my guppy and platy population has exploded) so I can begin dosing that in small amounts to prevent a complete lack of nitrAte.

 

[mgamer20o0]

I'd prefer wood, but my concern is that the anubias is so buoyant it might make the wood float!

get malaysian driftwood. trust me it wont float.

 

[7Enigma]

get malaysian driftwood. trust me it wont float.

You are correct. I had forgotten to mention this wood is probably not very dense compared to other types.