Adding item which has not been made specifically for an aquarium.

kichimark · Nov 25, 2019

NotASpammerDude said:
you could try curing it in a separate bucket with salt water + powerhead for several months and see if it holds up... the safest thing would be to apply some food grade translucent epoxy to the entire surface of it but that can be expensive. It depends on how much you want to spend. Honestly I wouldn't bother, easier just to put it near the tank instead of inside it

+1.

sfin52 · Nov 25, 2019

fuelman · Nov 25, 2019

Welcome to R2R!!!

JCOLE · Nov 25, 2019

Welcome to R2R!! I wouldn't risk it.

SPR1968 · Nov 26, 2019

Some great advice already so Welcome to R2R!!!

fishface NJ · Nov 26, 2019

Welcome to R2R! Since it is outside the tank it would be fine.

dwest · Nov 26, 2019

Welcome!

dwest · Nov 26, 2019

cmschmitz24 said:
Thanks for all the love everyone :)

I have a Wisconsin Badgers themed basement with a bunch of memorabilia and this is where the new tank is going. I thought it would be fun to include something like these guys in the tank but unsure how to make it safe. They’re made out of plastic. I’m leaning more towards the badger than the gnome haha.

I’m sure if they were buckeye themed they would be OK. I would not put any badger items in though :)

Reefnman2 · Nov 26, 2019

Welcome to R2R!

MrsBugmaster · Nov 26, 2019

Plus if you did put it in the tank you would constantly be having to clean it with something small like a tooth brush to keep it looking nice. Over time it would be covered in coraline algae and other stuff. And no telling what it might leach into the tank. I would not risk it.

DSEKULA · Nov 26, 2019

I've used west systems 105epoxy with 206 hardener (made for marine application) in my tank. I used it to create my fake sandbed by mixing sand and epoxy and then coating the bottom of the tank. The epoxy is reef safe when cured if mixed correctly (very important to be spot on with the mix ratio). In theory the items could be coated in this and allowed to cure to be added. However, I don't know how the epoxy would adhere to the plastic and paint it might bubble the paint up all funny, and you would need to be very confident in you ability to completely cover the items and inspect periodically for speration etc. The epoxy is also kind of thick so the items would noticably have a clear plastic shell. As others said I don't know that I would risk it personally but as someone who builds and tinkers with everything that would be the product id try. I would also do as another suggested and test the finished product in saltwater that wasn't in the tank first.