toxicity of stem plant metal

[tedr108]

I'm going to be using a bunch of that soft metal that is put around stem plants in one of my tanks. It's a short term project, maybe a few weeks. I will be making little U's to hold down my glossostigma tops, so they can root and grow lower.

That stuff isn't toxic to fish or inverts, is it? No doubt it would be pretty lame for the industry to use toxic material, but just wanted to double check.

Thanks in advance.

 

[VaughnH]

Those weights used to be made of lead. Lead is a poison that accumulates in the body until it has bad effects. So, people believe that using lead weights in an aquarium is a very bad idea.

I used to use a lot of them and my fish seemed to live as long as they do now, when I don't use them. That means I don't know if lead really has bad effects or not.

I currently use lead-free plumbers solder when I need a plant weight, which isn't often. Those aren't as effective, since they are a lower density material, and they are "heavy metal" objects also, which could conceivably cause harm to the fish.

 

[tedr108]

Thanks for the response, Hoppy. Well, I went ahead and used the metal pieces last night. Hopefully the glosso will root soon and I can pull the metal out asap. I seem to remember reading somewhere that at least some (if not all) of those metal plant weights do not contain lead any longer. I have so many pieces from so many sources, however, that I was a little insecure about it. The tank is still cycling (waiting for the last of the nitrites to leave, even as we speak), and I will add shrimp and fish slowly and observe them.