non-traditional aquarium decor?
- Thread starter pennyg
- Start date
first piece assembled. I didn't want it to sink to the bottom so I left it floaty. I used clear monofilament line and suction cup from the glowing jellyfish I purchased when I had a black light tank set up for my son. I think I need to fiddle with where I attach the line. 
Recent Lego bricks have been more eco-friendly and thus are biodegradeable, I'm not sure how many issues those may provide.
While looking up about putting a Tamiya 1/350 scale Tirpitz model in an aquarium I mostly find things for plastics leeching chemicals and stuff.
Things to keep in mind, I never did add the Tirpitz model because I was never able to become certain one way or the other of its safety to the fish.
While looking up about putting a Tamiya 1/350 scale Tirpitz model in an aquarium I mostly find things for plastics leeching chemicals and stuff.
Things to keep in mind, I never did add the Tirpitz model because I was never able to become certain one way or the other of its safety to the fish.
Lego bricks are made primarily of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). ABS is not biodegradeable and will not leach anything into the water. Lego have recently done tests on a more eco-friendly friendly sugar based material, I think this is what you may be referring too, but this too is not biodegradeable, and nor will it ever replace the bog standard ABS bricks.
All plastics are safe for your fish tank. The only ones I wouldn't trust are plastics with flame retardants added in at the extrusion stage. Also, if you're using plastics that have been in contact with other products, for example a plastic tub that may have originally contained detergent. This is where you need to be careful because the detergent can leach into the plastic tub, and subsequently leach said detergent into the aquarium water column, we're talking miniscule quantities, but enough to cause problems in a fish tank if you used that tub, unwashed, in your filtration for example.
So basically, new plastics are 100% safe, unless containing flame retardants. And used plastics that have been used for storing something in a previous life, are best to be avoided unless you take the time to soak and wash the hell out of them.
PS. There are biodegradeable plastics out there and they would turn to mush in your tank and make a right mess, but biodegradeable plastics tend to be packaging such as plastic carrier bags or bin liners. Such bags that tend to find their way to landfill where biodegradeable properties are advantageous for obvious reasons.
That's probably it, I didn't look into it too much because all the Lego sets I own will have pre-dated it so I wasn't worried about they degrading beyond the norm.
I really wouldn't say plastics are 100% safe, I couldn't figure out at all what type of plastic my model was made out of and so had very little idea what might've been added during the manufacturing process such as plasticizers.
I mean you'd probably be fine unless you have any long living fish being exposed for their lifetimes, I don't guppies or tetras will notice the effects, but I decided I wouldn't risk it for simplicitys sake.
Its an odd place for that but yes! Appreciation, Thank you!Hey
Now about those presents..
This is what I have placed in my son's tank thus far. I am seriously considering getting both these 3 in 1 creator sets again and making the robot version of the submarine and the angler fish instead of the shark. But my son is very pleased with his sub and shark. He is autistic and doesn't use many words regularly but when the shark was finished, he picked it up and took me by the hand and let me know he wanted it in with the submarine, even saying "Shark". So I am calling this a huge success.
The Lego bricks pretty much float no matter what so I am going to have to figure out how to weigh down some other models I am thinking about for another tank. I think if I get a flat thin building base then I can build up from that and then placed in the bottom and pile the substrate on that?
The Lego bricks pretty much float no matter what so I am going to have to figure out how to weigh down some other models I am thinking about for another tank. I think if I get a flat thin building base then I can build up from that and then placed in the bottom and pile the substrate on that?
I've always wanted to create a scene to look like a polluted pond with beer bottles,cinderblocks and other discarded trash.
