Craft Stores and Fish Tanks

[WaterDragon]

Well....I hope this is in the right spot..^^;

Anyway, I have been trying to think of some ways to give my tank a new look without spending all the money I currently have saved up(lost my dog walking thing when I moved and gotta pay for everything myself xD), like getting some rocks from outside(after bleaching them of course)and arranging them in the tank, I'd heard about terracotta pots, ext. And then it hit me.
The craft store was always my best friend in my Hermit Crab days, so why not now that I have fish?
But my question is more like what is safe and what isn't? Like the plastic plants there, would they be unsafe to put in an aquarium? Those bags of pebbles?

[emc7]

Plain pebbles, tumbled rocks and glass beads are ok, but some of the iridescent glazes have toxic heavy metals. Most clay pots are just fine, but again look out for brightly colored glaze. Anything they sell for cakes or otherwise touching human food is fine for fish. I don't know about silk plants. I think silk is pretty safe, but some of them may have wires that will rust. Read labels, avoid anything that says it resists mold or warns children not to put in mouths.

For cheap, fish-safe decor, I like inverted strawberry pots from wal-mart and cut up PVC pipe (you buy a pvc-cutter). Its not pretty, though. I used to buy plastic plants online, but now I have live ones (mostly jave fern). The start-up cost is higher, but eventually they multiply on their own.

[WaterDragon]

Thank you very much
Yeah, plain, natural colored pebbles are more what I'd be going for as opposed to those glass marbles and stuff and personally I like the look of the plain clay pots^^ At least, for what I have in mind they would fit in very well.
Alright, keep away from the wire ones and read labels about safety, got it.
I'd thought about PVC pipe as well, I'd seen where someone attached some gravel to some pieces with what looked to be aquarium, sealant to make it look prettier but I'd had sort of not wanted to get some in the first place because of how they looked.
I'll have to look into the strawberry pots^^
I have absolutely no green thumb at all, so I've tried to avoid really plants. I've heard about jave fern and moss and I may give that a try at some point.

[lohachata]

get your dad to take you to the local landscape supply place.... take a couple of 5 gallon buckets with you.. ask them for #10 or smaller riverbed gravel.. shouldn't cost you more than 2 or 3 bucks.. i get it here for about $30 a ton..

[Zakk]

woa thats cheap John! i use glass pebbles in my 15 (check the album) with out any problems.

[COM]

I really doubt that you'll save much money buying stuff at a craft store verses one of the big chain pet stores or Wal-Mart, and you won't have to question each and every item that you stick in the tank as to its possible toxicity. Obviously you can get stuff like rocks and clay pots cheaper at garden shops or in your backyard.

Keep in mind the key difference between a hermit crab environment and an aquarium: it is filled with water. Specifically, a fish tank is filled with warm water. This is the perfect condition for decay.

[WaterDragon]

Originally Posted by lohachata get your dad to take you to the local landscape supply place.... take a couple of 5 gallon buckets with you.. ask them for #10 or smaller riverbed gravel.. shouldn't cost you more than 2 or 3 bucks.. i get it here for about $30 a ton..

Wow! They'd be totally awesome. I'll have to see if I can get some of that

Originally Posted by COM I really doubt that you'll save much money buying stuff at a craft store verses one of the big chain pet stores or Wal-Mart, and you won't have to question each and every item that you stick in the tank as to its possible toxicity. Obviously you can get stuff like rocks and clay pots cheaper at garden shops or in your backyard. Keep in mind the key difference between a hermit crab environment and an aquarium: it is filled with water. Specifically, a fish tank is filled with warm water. This is the perfect condition for decay.

The thing is, I live in a small town where I don't have access to a big chain pet store OR a Wal-Mart. Sadly I'm stuck with a very tiny, under-stocked, and and pretty over priced LPS, a local chain pet store which is VERY over priced, and a small Ben Franklin. I'm not even sure about a garden shop, though there is probably a small garden section in our hardware store.
Not to mention I live a ways from all of this as it is

I'm aware of the difference, I was only using that as an example of how I came up with the idea originally xD Of course there is a lot more to consider when buying stuff for in an aquarium and I plan on making myself a check list to be sure the things I look at meet all the requirements.

[trashion]

Silk flowers often are dipped in fragrances...Not sure how good that would be to have in your tank.

[WaterDragon]

Wasn't thinking for going for the flowers so much as the greener plants, but you make a very good point. That definitely wouldn't be good. Something else to add to my list of things to look out for, thanks