The Puffer Forum

So, I wanted to build sort of a tower of broken pot shards for my 20g brackish tank. So, I was wondering first if terra cotta is safe in brackish water as it is in fresh? And, could I glue it together using hot melt glue? It seems to be chemically non-reactive, and it hardens so quickly that it would make building easy. But is it safe, or would fishtank silicone be better.

Also, I'm trying to think of other fun things to decorate a brackish tank with. All my FW tanks are heavy in plants and driftwood, but I think that won't work in brackish. Any suggestions?

thanks

I don't think hot melt glue (even the so-called waterproof formulation) is very strong. I would not suggest it. I have had some in tests for several months now withithout toxicity to guppies or ghost shrimp in FW. But the stuff is pretty weak and I would not count on it for holding power.

Silicone is not very good for any porous material or for plastics either.

I would suggest two-part epoxy putty.

I assume I should use the stuff they sell for fish tanks? Or is it the same stuff as the stuff they sell at hardware stores for much cheaper?

Any other good options for decorating brackish tanks besides cheesy fish store ceramics?

Usually I would use LR epoxy, its easy to find and easy to use.

Other ideas could be:
-River stones
-Dead coral (be careful of PH)
-Silk plants
-Live mangroves

I use Julian Sprung's putty (Two Little Fishies). It is safe in FW, BW, and SW.