chemical smell on new decoration..

[Micky15]

Hi folks, a few weeks back many of you helped with my water problem, saving my Angel & getting a new home for my big pleco. Angel is doing well, water is pretty good now & I wanted to put a different decoration in the tank. The one that came with the tank is really big & would like to give the angel more room to roam. This phobey driftwood I bought, while washing it, I noticed this very bad smell from the inside of it, like a chemical of some kind. I've been washing it out with boiling water, but still smells. I got it at Wallmart in the fish dept, but I'm afraid to use it. My angel has been thru alot & has come a long way. I certainly don't want to kill him with a bad decoration. What does anyone think? Can't take it back, have had it too long & no receipt

[KcEE]

Hmm...if the smell is still strong even after washing and boiling, I wouldn't put it in the tank. (Less worrying)

[Ryuu]

Sounds like a bit of a problem. I wouldnt use it. If it was expensive you may be able to find another use for it. I wouldnt use any major store brands of wood such as wal-mart, meijers, or target. Instead fine some at petco or petsmart, who specialize in pets and not everything.

[PostalPenguin]

Did it smell before or after you boiled it? Boiling it may be breaking down the plastic.

[kaybee]

I purchased a large resin decoration that had a very strong 'chemical' smell, to the extent that I thought it was toxic. The odor became somewhat stronger after it was it was in the tank for a day, the room started to have the chemical smell.

The tag said aquarium safe or non-toxic so I was somewhat perplexed (it smelled something like spray paint). The fish in the tank didn't appear to be affected.

I ran carbon on the tank and the odor was completely gone after a day or so, then removed the carbon after about 5 days. I was running two Aquaclear 110 HOB's on the tank and utilized two of the carbon bags meant for use for those filters (each nearly brick sized).

That was in 2004. The fish that occupy the tank now were in the tank back then with that decoration.

[cocoa_pleco]

ditto with Kaybee, just run fresh carbon for a week

or if you want just stick the decoration in a bucket with a filter stuffed with carbon and leave it for a week

[Lady Hobbs]

I had a resin tree stump that smelled just terrible after months of being in the tank. Never could get rid of the smell and finally threw it out. Never thought of using carbon but this was bad and quite large and I don't think nothing would have helped it.

[Lady Hobbs]

PS.....Be careful with some of those fake decorations. Fish grow and the openings in those decorations don't. I lost a few fish to getting stuck.

[Mvjnz]

I'd say the boiling water would have contributed to the problem. Most plastic isn't designed to be boiled, and can then become smelly and change from what it was originally intended to be...