Nail the tank?

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G

Guppy's_Hell

Candiru
MFK Member
Apr 2, 2007
271
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46
Miami, Fl
At the risk of sounding... :screwy:

I was talking to a guy at a LFS and he said that "back in the day" he would put a nail in his substrate and let it rust for the plants and the fish were fine with it...

Is this really safe for the fish? The only reason I'm risking the flames on this is because I know its good for non aquatic potted plants... Im just worried to try it with my fish just now... lol



Thanks
 
Hello; I never put iron in a tank on purpose, but had several tanks with iron frames. One was a homemade glass tank with an angle iron frame. It was about a 125 gallon. Had an angle iron cross brace across the top at the center. The cross brace and the bolts that held it in place were rusty the several years that the tank survived. The iron frame rusted around the top and was in contact with the tank water often. Never had a problem with fish and did grow some very nice plants in that tank. The rust around the bolt holding the cross brace built up over the years between it and the glass to the point that it pressed on the glass and caused a crack from the top all the way down the back.
 
All kinds of animals live just fine in high iron environments. There was an old quarry we fished in where the fish were perfectly healthy, the only way you could tell that it was high in iron was that the native turtles were dark red. It's not too common, but it should be fine for most fish.

Josh H
 
careful what nails you get tho some are coated to prevent rust. try and find just pure iron
 
What does the Iron do for the plants? Aren't there liquid additives you could use instead? Just curious.. I might like to try this as well
 
It helps with photosynthesis making them greener and grow better.... You can buy liquid supplements which I have but its kind of a PITA in my layback approach to aquarium care... Not to mention it just sounds kinda "interesting" to do... Tomorrow might just be the day I sink a nail in the tank ill take before and after pics throughout a few weeks...
 
Definitely take pics. I might try it as well. If you do put a nail in the tank should you not use liquid additives? Also, does nail size/ tank size matter?
 
I personally would avoid the rusty nail. You will need to add many nails into the substrate for it to be effective. You may need a tetanus shot if you ever decide to re-do the tank... Others have used iron shavings and steel wool to spread the "rust" in the substrate as the rust isn't water soluble. This is what I understand from my limited reading on the matter.

Why not use clay as a source of iron in the substrate and a liquid iron form for the water column. pottery clay from your local art supply store is perfect for this. Roll up little balls and dry them in the sun for a day. Push the balls under your plants and its done. You can even mix dry fertilizer into the ball for added substrate fertilization. Flourish iron is like $10-15 per bottle and will last you a very long time.

Just my two cents. I'm not an expert so take this with a grain of salt.
 
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