Sea shell in tank?

[jhawk__]

I got a big shell from the beach, was wondering what I need to do to it in order to put it in my freshwater tank?

 

[Rivercats]

Just wash is good under very hot water, no soap. Then your going to want to soak it for a couple weeks to help leach out any salt that could be absorbed in the shell. BUT be aware that in all likely hood the shell will raise your Kh (calcium) levels which in turn will raise your Ph. In a small tank this could be very bad. IMO I'd leave the shell on a shelf for display and not in the tank.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I got a few shells from Florida on vacation. I just threw them in, and nothing bad happened...

 

[armymp327]

I got a few shells from Florida on vacation. I just threw them in, and nothing bad happened...

do you have a hydrometer to check your salinty level? because an elevated one that could be cause by sea shells could be bad for other people, same goes for the KH and PH rise that will happen when the shells slowly break down into calcium

 

[Mebbid]

do you have a hydrometer to check your salinty level? because an elevated one that could be cause by sea shells could be bad for other people, same goes for the KH and PH rise that will happen when the shells slowly break down into calcium

I have doubts about the amount of salt a seashell could possibly hold that could affect an aquarium larger than 10 gallons. As for the breaking down of the shell, as was said it happens slowly. Water changes should take care of it without any issues

 

[jhawk__]

If I wash the sell thoroughly, do you think I could put it in?

 

[egrape]

you can give it a try, but monitor your ph. you might not have an issue, but if it starts to rise, take it out and do a water change

 

[Mebbid]

you can give it a try, but monitor your ph. you might not have an issue, but if it starts to rise, take it out and do a water change

Always a good idea when adding things to the aquarium, but keep in mind that the ph will fluctuate during the day so I would suggest taking a few readings before adding it. Also, calcium in the aquarium isn't necessarily a bad thing. Both snails and shrimp utilize it.

 

[israel24]

I too just added about 15 small 1-4" sea shells and 2 corral looking like rock into my freshwater (fw) 55 gal tank. The pH is currently 6.8 so hopefully it will go up some to 7.0. BTW, isn't a little salt ok for fw fish anyways? According to API's Aquarium Salt, it's healthy ( Freshwater Aquarium Salts: API Aquarium Pharmaceutical Freshwater Aquarium Salt ). However, i did not boil or wash under hot water, just cold, but it has been yrs since they were in the ocean.