Seashells in freshwater tank

[SkarloeysMom]

So we just went to the beach and my son picked up a few seashells. I was just wondering if its OK to put seashells into a freshwater tank for decoration. :confused:

[Fishguy2727]

What fish? What is your pH now? How big is the tank? How many shells and how big are they?

[Incredulous_Ed]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is the shells raise the ph and hardness. If you put the shells in a bucket of water and they raise the the ph and hardness they probably shouldn't be used unless you have high ph fish, like livebearers.

[SkarloeysMom]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is the shells raise the ph and hardness. If you put the shells in a bucket of water and they raise the the ph and hardness they probably shouldn't be used unless you have high ph fish, like livebearers.

Good info! I'll do an experiment with some Ph neutral RO filtered water and see what happens. I was planning on putting the shells in my son's 10g community which does have guppies in it but others too (see signature for stock). I'll do the experiment first to make sure. How long should I soak the shells and in how much water? I only have 4 small shells (like 1" diameter each.)

[Incredulous_Ed]

Well, I would test the water in the bucket first, put the shells in, and test it again a week later. If they raise the pH and/or hardness a bit they won't be so good for the corys, who prefer softer water. Another test you can do which is not as accurate but faster is pour a few drops of vingar (or muriatic acid) on the shells and wait a bit and if the vinegar starts to bubble, they will disolve into the tank.

[Fishguy2727]

What pH does your tank usually hold at? If it is high already it won't really matter. The vinegar test is simply to see whether there is calcium carbonate, which is a known yes since they are shells. It does not mean that the shells will play any siginificant role in the pH of your tank, especially if the pH is already high.

[SkarloeysMom]

my Ph is usually about 7 or 7.2 or so. I use a Ph neutralizer because my tap water is a 10.

[Incredulous_Ed]

my Ph is usually about 7 or 7.2 or so. I use a Ph neutralizer because my tap water is a 10.
10?! that's crazy high! You can just go ahead and use the shells. It won't make a noticable difference in the pH, as fishguy2727 said.

[RobbieG]

my Ph is usually about 7 or 7.2 or so. I use a Ph neutralizer because my tap water is a 10.

Can you even drink water like that?

[SkarloeysMom]

Can you even drink water like that?

Well people do drink it but we don't. We have an RO filter tap on our sink that puts out Ph neutral, clean water.

[RobbieG]

Same at my house - I wouldn't drink the tap water here if you put a gun to my head. PH is OK but it comes out looking like iced tea!