can I use sea coral in my tank???

GarNiac

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2009
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in the next few days I'll be going to the beach nearby, and I am planning to find some coral that I could use for my little "freshwater" tank.
question is, what should I do to the coral before I can use them?
 

GarNiac

Jack Dempsey
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Feb 21, 2009
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c mon, help pls, is this the right forum??
 

dudey

Candiru
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Jun 29, 2008
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What I would do is either boil it to kill everything off or dip it in a bleach solution.

mix up solution with like 10% bleach or 90% water dip for a few seconds, then let it soak in freshwater.

I have dipped, plants and driftwood in bleach to kill black beard algae, just make sure you get out all the bleach before adding it to a tank.

boiling would probably be the safest since I don't know how porous the coral is and if it would soak up the bleach.
 

dudey

Candiru
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Jun 29, 2008
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you might want to be careful with dead coral though, they can be sharp and could easily injure spooked fish in your tank
 

GarNiac

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2009
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thanks alot, that helps, there are so many corals on the beach where I'll be going, and you right, they are mostly have sharp edges, but I'll be looking for those with softer edges while scoping around the beach.
cheers
 

Noto

Feeder Fish
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Nov 18, 2008
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Also be aware that corals will slowly dissolve in fresh water. This dissolution releases a lot of calcium and magnesium carbonates as well as various other minerals, raising your water's hardness and pH. If your water is soft and/or acidic, the dissolution will occur more rapidly and may cause your fish a lot of stress.
 

gomezladdams

Polypterus
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Sep 8, 2005
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If you have hard water to begin with and are keeping hard water fish dead washed up coral is fine to use,just be sure there is nothing rotting in it.
 
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