Angel74 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Hello everyone I have needed to put some sinkers (used 4 fishing)attached to a little bit of line in my tank 2 weigh down my plant inside a wood branch till it gets established root system to hold it in place before my malawi's and gibby up root it .The question is do sinkers leech anything in the tank that might harm my troop???? thanks in advance 4 any info received Angel74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saudukar Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Fish sinkers are made from lead. Lead is poison. I wouldn't be putting it in my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 You could try using a rock instead of the sinkers. On the same sort of topic, does anyone know what that thick wire tying bunches of plants in LFS together is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 G'day Unfortunately lead is pretty bad for our pets. I would never be using it. PS. You can purchase lead free fishing sinkers but be warned it is very expensive. What about using a rubberband connected to a pebble/rock. cya Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colfish Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 does anyone know what that thick wire tying bunches of plants in LFS together is? ← solder; a mixture of tin and lead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel74 Posted May 7, 2006 Author Share Posted May 7, 2006 thanks guys sinkers are gone now cheers Angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Lead is poisonous, but it has to be ingested. In fresh water it is pretty well non-reactive, so fish won't eat it or be able to absorb it through their skin. I could be completely wrong here, but interestingly I was thinking about it just this weekend, and wondered as to a correct answer. I would like to see some more input to this posts question, particularly if there are any people out there that can give a definitive answer. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Lead is poisonous, but it has to be ingested. In fresh water it is pretty well non-reactive, so fish won't eat it or be able to absorb it through their skin. True, but as Angel said there is a gibby in the tank I'd be chucking them out just to be on the safe side. However, Commercially sold "plant anchors" for aquarium plants are made of lead but I think that they have a protective coating over them. Perhaps a silicone sealant spray or similar may make your sinkers safe enough to use. -Mat- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLL Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Lead is poisonous, but it has to be ingested. In fresh water it is pretty well non-reactive, so fish won't eat it or be able to absorb it through their skin. I could be completely wrong here, but interestingly I was thinking about it just this weekend, and wondered as to a correct answer. I would like to see some more input to this posts question, particularly if there are any people out there that can give a definitive answer. Craig ← Most lead sinkers will have a coat of lead oxide which makes it less reactive than normal (which is not much in water) but in either case it is not very reactive at all, a freshly cut or molded sinker would be a worse choice due to the lack of oxidation. The potential issue is in acidic waters, especially with nitric acid which forms at the end of the nitrogen cycle. Even then the reaction is slow and the toxicity risk is probably not a big issue. All that said, I have often wondered why shops use solder around plants and I always remove it and would not use a sinker in my tanks. I have seen tanks where solder has been left in the gravel for a long time and there is quite a bit of corrosion evident. This is probably more likely to be the tin in the solder mix though. If in doubt leave it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 True, but as Angel said there is a gibby in the tank I'd be chucking them out just to be on the safe side. A gibby has the mouth-hardware to tackle metal? Led is soft, but not as soft as a water logged piece of wood. I’d be surprised if any pleco type species can scape off lead. Good suggestion to coat in silicon, but I’m still not convinced that small amounts of led cannot safely be put into a fresh water tank. Most lead sinkers will have a coat of lead oxide which makes it less reactive than normal (which is not much in water) but in either case it is not very reactive at all, a freshly cut or molded sinker would be a worse choice due to the lack of oxidation. The potential issue is in acidic waters, especially with nitric acid which forms at the end of the nitrogen cycle. Even then the reaction is slow and the toxicity risk is probably not a big issue. Good comment, pretty much in line with what I understood. I personally also by choice would not have it in my tanks, but we need to understand the details for a choice. I've always taken those led weights of plants if for no other reason than they can damage the plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Miller Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I have been using sinkers for quite some time now and I have had no problems, I place the sinker into a balloon and tie it off so that there is no contact with water or fish. HTH Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I've used barbless blunt hooks, small lead sinkers & fishing line to hold down zuchinni for my gibby - the tank in question has had the least troubles out of all of my tanks, but then it's only been in action for ~2 years & I stopped using the sinkers 6 months ago (the line snapped & I've been too lazy to replace it). As already mentioned, the sinkers have a oxide layer on them which stops them from reacting - the hooks however are stuffed quite quickly & I'd be more worried about them leaching iron & other stuff into the water than the sinker itself leaching lead. No scientific way to tell if there's been an issue with it, perhaps the fish will get fishy cancer from lead poisoning in a few years? The fact that plants are bunched with solder surely means it doesn't kill fish quickly, almost every LFS does it, though our fish of choice (cichlids & plecs) live longer than the usual family tank neons, guppys & swordtails don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Would it be safe to safe to say here that lead is okay to use in your tank, don't go crazy with it, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to coat it with silicon take further take any risk out, but even if you don't coat it, small amounts pose no risk? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 The ehiem noodles make good weights for airstones, might be worth trying a few of those on some fishing wire... Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I used a big lead snapper sinker to hold down a piece of driftwood. It was under the gravel and I never had any problems. My Blue Rams even had a spawn 10cm from the sinker about a week after coming into the tank. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Would it be safe to safe to say here that lead is okay to use in your tank, don't go crazy with it, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to coat it with silicon take further take any risk out, but even if you don't coat it, small amounts pose no risk? Craig ← That's sort of what I was getting at - I only ever used pea sized sinkers BTW. YMMV & all that, I think the silicon coating would be the go. I used a big lead snapper sinker to hold down a piece of driftwood. It was under the gravel and I never had any problems. My Blue Rams even had a spawn 10cm from the sinker about a week after coming into the tank. Bruce ← If anything would drop dead from lead being in the tank, it should have been those blue rams! How big is that sinker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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