# Non-Toxic LEAD Plant Sinkers...Who knows Lead properties?



## dfbiggs

I have a planted aquarium and have been constantly battling floating plants but refuse to put any metal in my tank. I came across these Non-toxic Plant weights that I bought at a LFS and no where did they say what they were made of. They are made in China which threw up a huge red flag to me...By my experiences and probably a few others China seems to be worried about making business no matter what is at stake..and always leave off the important details.

I emailed the company which is Blue Ribbon Pet Products which is based out of NY. I attached the conversation. 

Now I want to know is this guy blowing smoke or is there some form of lead that is non-toxic. Or does he just mean non-toxic to fish. I just see it as...if its something I shouldn't be handling i am definately not putting it in my tanks...common sense.

Also, would you expert fish keepers ever put any kind of metal, like stainless, or anything in your aquariums.

*(READ EMAIL FROM BOTTOM UP)*


----------



## BlueHalo

I d say your on a semi right path lol, lead is an extremely old alloy thats been around public use for hundred's of years, lead of itself in good condition posses no threat to anybody , unless they eat it,sand it and breathe it.
The issue with lead in an aquarium is very well understood, C02 exposure creates acetic acid release creating a powdery substance, the powder is quite bad, will reduce children s iq points by quite a bit hence the "do not sand old paint" warnings, if it gets into the air you will be breathing it.So in a Co2 supplied tank the exposure is greater than a just water and light tank, you could go buy a roll of lead free solder from the hardware store, its main component is tin (pewter) and If you can eat and drink from pewter its ok in the tank


----------



## dfbiggs

-Blue

Honestly I did not think anyone would bother to comment on this but thanks. 

Just because people say "it's been around for hundreds of years" or "that's how we've been doing it " doesn't make it right. I mean hundreds of fish have died in the process too..;-) Most people are using these for plants weights which means there is a good likelihood that they might be using CO2 Injection which your saying would cause the acid reaction...and then kill the fish?..or make them lose IQ points..

Now tin may be safe to eat and drink from but being submerged for long periods of time won't it corrode..or its corrosion doesn't matter....I don't know what it makes when it corrodes.

Bare with me..I over analyze everything...this is how I learn.

Solder sounds better to me...maybe I will pick some ..

Thanks,
-D


----------



## redchigh

Personally, I'd just tie it to a rock with fishing line, or place a rock over the stem to hold it against the gravel.


----------



## bearwithfish

redchigh said:


> Personally, I'd just tie it to a rock with fishing line, or place a rock over the stem to hold it against the gravel.


+1 no metal ever!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Mikaila31

I got lots of those weights. The round ones and the ribbon like ones. Never had an issue. But I don't normally have them in the tanks permanently. They always come on the stem plants I buy. I usually just keep them with all the fish stuff. I've never seen any problem with using them. I also don't see why they would need to be used long term in a tank. It doesn't take that long for a plant to establish itself.

I also have had the lead weights in tanks with pressurized CO2 injection. It doesn't change so I assume it is pretty stable. I know paperclips will rust up real quick in those tank. I use them more often then the plant weights and they often get lost in there long term. They can come out looking like those rock coated bottle caps you find on the beach.


----------



## dfbiggs

I have tied all my plants with with thread and a rock but they keep making their way out of the thread...I have even tried tying them to chopsticks since thay are long and less likely to make their way out of the substrate...I am to the point where I am going to tie them to an anvil..


The main issue i am having is with my giant hair grass. They are huge and made of of a whole bunch of hollow tubes which makes them really bouyant.


----------



## zof

Have you tried planting them, then putting a rock on top of them?

Ok on a serious note, what about getting some plastic mesh of some sort and tying the roots to that by interleaving the roots, then dig out some substrate put it in the hole and then putting substrate back over the mesh and plant roots. The down side would be that mesh would be a permanent fixture as long as you had the plant, but shouldn't release any toxic stuff.


----------



## dfbiggs

zof said:


> Have you tried planting them, then putting a rock on top of them?
> 
> Ok on a serious note, what about getting some plastic mesh of some sort and tying the roots to that by interleaving the roots, then dig out some substrate put it in the hole and then putting substrate back over the mesh and plant roots. The down side would be that mesh would be a permanent fixture as long as you had the plant, but shouldn't release any toxic stuff.


 
:lol: I actually did pour some gravel over my foreground plants to try to hold them down...I have learned from my mistakes though..with Dwarf baby tears and Microsword i will never remove it from its container ever again..But my Microsword I bought in a square foot so it was like putting down sod...but for some reason worked itself out of the patch. (SO now they are floating plants) I have found out I have snails working against me and I think that is part or the prob..I have nerites and they truck through my plants.. and with fine plants they they pull them out strand by strand. Another learned lesson don't have large snails ina planted aquarium..unless you have meaty plants.

The mesh bags sounds like a great idea..(I just got some in for my moss wall) next time I remodel I will take the time to redo them.
Thanks zof!


----------



## zof

What kind of mesh bags did you get and where? I have some Java moss coming in next week and need to figure out what to attach it to.


----------



## dfbiggs

zof said:


> What kind of mesh bags did you get and where? I have some Java moss coming in next week and need to figure out what to attach it to.


Well it's not bags but I planned to sew it shut like I did for my wall.(Check out my 10gallon) I got it from ebay. I got it for only 99Cents plus $4.70 S&H. It was even a larger piece than the measurement they had posted. Also you can use hair nets (you can get these in the beauty sections for cheap) if you want a ball of moss to grow through it that is what I have in my 10g with peacock moss in it..TIED TO A ROCK..lol.

You can also get a roll of plastic screen at ACE Hardware..thats what I had originally and thought the holes were too small but after seeing this plant mesh they are the same size holes.

Hope this link works.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PLANT-NET-M-Live-Aquarium-Java-Aquatic-Fish-tank-co2_W0QQitemZ250673629914QQcategoryZ0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m506QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DNGRI%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D20%26pmod%3D250671006855%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6606692176394229086


----------

