# Seashells and Ph



## LisaC144

Do seashells from the beach affect Ph? My fiance wants to put a couple shells from the beach in our 5g fish tank. If I clean them well, can maybe 2 go in the tank or will it change the Ph of the water?


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## Angel079

I'd boil them good for one.
I used various FL collected shells before in set ups, never had a problem. If they fuzz when you drip vinegar on them, that means they'd give off a lot calcium which would harden your water and so with up your pH; otherwise not; like I said mine never did but I also had them in larger tanks then a 5g.


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## LisaC144

Ok I'll try that. Do I do the vinegar test in the boiling water or test it in regular temp water first and if they don't fizz then boil them to be safe?


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## Angel079

No before you boil them, just lay them on a plate or in the sink or something, drip some vinegar on it, see if it fuzzes. If it does not fuzz, you're save; then just boil them to be sure there's nothing on there you'd carry into the tank and done


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## LisaC144

Thanks, Natalie. You're always such a big help :-D


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## Angel079

You're very welcome; I'm glad if I can be helpful sometimes


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## Byron

On this issue I cannot agree with my friend Natalie:-(.

Shells are calcium, period. That is what snail shells, clam shells, all shells are made of (along with other things of course). And any calcareous item will over time dissolve in water. Snails do not fare well in my soft water simply because there is not sufficient calcium for their shells (a natural means of control).

If you have very soft acidic water, the shells may be useful to add some calcium, but in acidic water I would be careful of the extent to which they will do this. This is why people put crushed coral, dolomite, lava rock, etc. in their filters, to add some alkalinity. In water which is already above pH 7 and moderately hard, I would not add any calcareous object; the last thing you want with plants and such fish is more alkalinity/hardness.

I do not recommend putting shells in a freshwater aquarium. The boiling might handle the salt issue, but not the calcium.

Byron.


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## Angel079

That's why I told her to test if its not going to "fuzz" on her then its so minimal that what its gonna give off into the tank combined with weekly w/c won't even amend the parameters in a measurable way; I used cleaned ones before and since my test kit only measures in steps of 1-2-3 degrees, I hadn't detected changes;-)


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## Byron

Angel079 said:


> That's why I told her to test if its not going to "fuzz" on her then its so minimal that what its gonna give off into the tank combined with weekly w/c won't even amend the parameters in a measurable way; I used cleaned ones before and since my test kit only measures in steps of 1-2-3 degrees, I hadn't detected changes;-)


The "fizz" test does not always work. Vinegar is no where near a strong enough acid to detect calcium unless it is very high, which is why I have elsewhere not recommend it for testing rocks and gravel. After all, vinegar is edible, so while it is an acid it is not a strong one or it would burn our mouths and throat. The acid regeant in a nitrate test apparently works better, not sure but I think it is Regeant #2--it's the one that is an acid anyway.

Test kits are not scientifically miniscule accurate; and many on here have written about different kits producing different results with the same water for this and that. For instance, my API KH and GH kits test zero for my tap water, but I am told there is some calcium and carbonate in the water, usually said to be between 1 and 2 degrees, yet I can't detect it.

I don't know what Lisa's water may be in hardness, but if it is anything otther than very soft I would not risk adding any calcareous substance to it. But that's just my opinion.

Byron.


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## LisaC144

Well I'd rather be safe than sorry. I told him no sea shells in the new tank. He'll survive ;-)


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## iamntbatman

Byron said:


> The acid regeant in a nitrate test apparently works better, not sure but I think it is Regeant #2--it's the one that is an acid anyway.


Bottle #1 is 41% hydrochloric acid. This is a much stronger acid than vinegar and is double the concentration of the "other" commonly available strong acid, muriatic acid (which is actually just a 20% HCl solution). The ultimate "is ____ made of calcium?" test.

I agree, though. Seashells are almost entirely calciferous material and will most certainly raise your pH and hardness.


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## gainesgoodwin

*Back to Seashells in fresh water aquariums*

What if the shell was sealed with aquarium safe silicone?


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## JDM

Same thing applies to corals, in case it comes up.

Jeff.


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## AbbeysDad

We hear of these concerns and I don't mean to make light of them but I have to wonder to what extent shells dissolve in FW to change the pH. It would make sense if shells were ground into a powder and added to the water, but as hard shells I wouldn't think they could do much to the pH.


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