rust on ornament

[royta]

I'm setting up a 28g Euro bow front that my kids got from their grandfather. It's been set up in the past and we also received one of those shipwreck ornaments. There is a spot on the mast where it is cracked and rust has formed. There also appears to be a piece of metal on one of the mast crossarms that is rusting. Will this be an issue in a freshwater setup? Will the rust negatively affect the water parameters? The kids really want the ornament in there, so I figured I'd better ask.

Thanks.

 

[HUKIT]

Ive never seen any of those things with metal since theyre all made of resin plastic. Are you sure it's actually rust? I would still use it if it is but just knock off any loose stuff and give a soak in a water/bleach solution. Then soak it again with water and Prime to remove the bleach and should be good to go.

 

[gkuzel]

I agree with HUKIT 10% bleach solution should be fine, then rinsed with water.

 

[meegosh]

Yeah I wouldn't expect that to have any metal in it. Is it really metal?

 

[Shadowraven]

I've never heard of an ornament like that having any metal in it and I doubt that there would be any in it. It probably doesn't but make sure, you don't want any rusting metal in the tank.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'm setting up a 28g Euro bow front that my kids got from their grandfather. It's been set up in the past and we also received one of those shipwreck ornaments. There is a spot on the mast where it is cracked and rust has formed. There also appears to be a piece of metal on one of the mast crossarms that is rusting. Will this be an issue in a freshwater setup? Will the rust negatively affect the water parameters? The kids really want the ornament in there, so I figured I'd better ask.

Thanks.

Are you sure it's rust and not part of the finish? Try scraping it with your fingernail, it it's real rust you'll know.

Got a full pic of it? It's pretty cool looking and I don't blame your kids for wanting it in the tank .

 

[royta]

I guess I could have been fooled by some faux rust.

I'll snap a picture of the whole thing with my camera. The pics attached are only from my phone. The same ornament is sold at Petsmart.

It really needs to go in the tank now because I started my fishless cycle on Saturday night. I like the idea of a 10% bleach cleaning followed by a water rinse and then a water/Prime soak first though. The sails are a little brownish from more than likely a lack of water maintenance.

 

[Shadowraven]

I doubt there is any metal in it then. Most of those ornaments are solid cast resin.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Chances are it's not rust. A good scrubbing under hot tap water wil be enough and I'd be hesitant about a bleach mix wash unless you soak it for a week with full water flushes everyday. I'm an advocate of bleach, but a 5x rinse is a must IMO/E.

 

[royta]

It is most definitely rust. My son took a magnet to the area and the magnet sticks.

On a different note...is there a rule of thumb for the size of air pump I should get for a bubbler?

 

[severum mama]

It is most definitely rust. My son took a magnet to the area and the magnet sticks.

On a different note...is there a rule of thumb for the size of air pump I should get for a bubbler?

That's really strange. Do you think maybe the ornament was stored with stuff that rusted onto it?

As for the "bubbler", you don't need one but if you want to use one it's fine. I believe the air pumps you'll see at pet stores will have some kind of guide on the packaging. You can use the air pump with a normal airstone, bubble wand, or with a bubbling ornament if you prefer. Your kids might like a bubbling treasure chest to go along with that ship!

 

[royta]

That's really strange. Do you think maybe the ornament was stored with stuff that rusted onto it? Your kids might like a bubbling treasure chest to go along with that ship!

The rust is coming from metal in the main mast cross arm and in the main mast pole. You can hang a magnet off of it.




Oh, here's the sunken ship decoration. Top Fin&#0174 Schooner Bow with Fabric Sail - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

 

[Mr. Limpet]

The rust is coming from metal in the main mast cross arm and in the main mast pole. You can hang a magnet off of it.


Oh, here's the sunken ship decoration. Top Fin&#0174 Schooner Bow with Fabric Sail - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Must be some internal support that wasn't supposed to be exposed to the water. Maybe take a small bit of clear silicone and coat the area with it is the only thing I can think of, because unsealed it's gonna rust more.

Cool looking decco .

 

[royta]

Will the rust be detrimental to water parameters? There's some rust forming under the forward sail where it attaches to the cross arm. I'd have to remove the sail at that corner to repair it. If it doesn't negatively affect the water, then I'm just going to put the ship in the tank as is.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Will the rust be detrimental to water parameters? There's some rust forming under the forward sail where it attaches to the cross arm. I'd have to remove the sail at that corner to repair it. If it doesn't negatively affect the water, then I'm just going to put the ship in the tank as is.

I'd think some (a lot?) of minerals would be introduced in to the water column, as to it being detrimental I'm not really sure.

 

[Shadowraven]

Will the rust be detrimental to water parameters? There's some rust forming under the forward sail where it attaches to the cross arm. I'd have to remove the sail at that corner to repair it. If it doesn't negatively affect the water, then I'm just going to put the ship in the tank as is.

Yes it will. Unless you can find a way to cover it so that it doesn't have any contact with the water, you should leave it out of the tank. It will play merry hob with your aquarium. If enough of iron oxide leaches into your water it could hurt or even kill your fish. At the very least, it is very likely to make them sick. Don't use it unless you can fix it.

Fish and plants will use trace iron from the water, but not in the amounts rust will produce. Too much iron is poison.

That is really weird to have that under the resin. I never heard of anything like that before.

 

[severum mama]

I agree that it shouldn't be used in the tank.

I have never seen or heard of ornaments that have metal in them like this. Thanks for sharing with us. It's definitely something for us to be looking for in the future when choosing ornaments!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I think it's more a matter of the metal being an internal frame that the ship was molded around, which makes sense in order to keep the masts upright and looking good. But like too many things now a days, they want you to buy more so it wasn't made to last lol.

 

[severum mama]

I think it's more a matter of the metal being an internal frame that the ship was molded around, which makes sense in order to keep the masts upright and looking good. But like too many things now a days, they want you to buy more so it wasn't made to last lol.

I know what you mean, but it still surprises me. There are plenty of resin ornaments out there that don't have metal added to them so I just assumed none of them did.