Terrarium Plant’s in aquarium?

[Briggan]

Hi, while shopping for fake plants for my tank I came across a pretty plastic terrarium plant with a suction cup that I attached to the surface of the water.

My concern is that the plants could be leeching chemicals or something into the water. This morning the water was slightly cloudy...

I really like this plant and I think it looks great and I only bought it because after talking it over with someone, I decided it was the same material as my other plastic plants. The package did not say that is wasn’t aquarium safe, only to place it in a “clean and dry area of the terrarium tank”.

Can someone help and tell me if I should take it out or if it will be ok? I’m not sure if the cloudy water is cycling, or the plastic. I have a shell in there that I’m taking out, too.

I took the shell out.

 

[Colin_T]

What's the plant made of?

Can you post a picture of it?
Someone might have seen them in aquariums before.

Wash it with warm soapy water and rinse well afterwards. If there is any dye in it, that should wash out and then it should be safe.

Maybe do a google search for it and see if the manufacturer can tell you if it's fish safe.

 

[Briggan]

The plant is made plastic.

I rinsed it before putting it in, but not with soap. I believe the brand was All Living Things, but I could be wrong.

I’m trying to post a pic but all the files are too big...

 

[Byron]

It is wise to never put any artificial object into an aquarium that does not have "safe for use in aquarium" mentioned somewhere. Even items intended for terrariums can be toxic. Submersion in water can affect these items.

 

[Briggan]

It is partially submerged, the suction cup is holding some of it out of the water.

I use plastic plants because I was told I need a special light for the plants I wanted so I did not get any. I also find plastic plants easier to deal with.

 

[Byron]

It is partially submerged, the suction cup is holding some of it out of the water.

I use plastic plants because I was told I need a special light for the plants I wanted so I did not get any. I also find plastic plants easier to deal with.

That's fine, but the point is only use plastic plants that have "safe for aquarium" stated on the package/label. An object permanently under water can leech toxins depending, it is just not safe to risk it.

 

[Briggan]

Thank you, I will try to fix the problem using something else. Thanks for responding so quick!

 

[Byron]

You mentioned the light was no good for plants...depending what this really means, it might be suitable for floating plants. You could do a nice authentic aquascape with just floating plants and using wood and/or rock instead of plants lower down.

 

[Briggan]

Cool, I’ll look into that! I think live plants are beautiful!

 

[Colin_T]

I’m trying to post a pic but all the files are too big...

set the camera's resolution to 2MB (or the lowest setting) and the images should be small enough to fit on here.

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What sort of light do you have on the tank and what are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

 

[Briggan]

Here’s a pic.

Tank:
Height- 18 in
Width- 15 in
Length- 15 in

 

[Colin_T]

milky cloudy water is unlikely to be from green plastic plants. If plastic leaches colours it will leach the colour of the plant. The plant looks fine and shouldn't be an issue. If you're concerned, let it soak in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks. Change the water each day and anything that might leach out, should do so within a week.

 

[Briggan]

Thank you, I think I’ll leave it for a while and monitor any changes. Thanks again.