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My husband gave me a beautiful ruby colored diamond shaped lead crystal. I was wondering if it would be safe to put in my aquarium??? Not sure I want to put it in--but, in case I do, would it be safe??
Anna

crystal is just glass right? it's just that crystal is *expensive* glass (most of the time), so i suppose you could put it in the tank, but why would you want to?

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

i dont wana contradict anyone, but crystal is not glass. crystals are actually rocks in which have gone the geological process and withstood time. as far as putting it in an aquarium it would be safe. i am not sure what you mean by "lead" crystal. does the crystal have some sort of lead fixture attached to it or is the crystal a giant piece of lead which was cut and shapped to form a crystal apperance. if there is any lead or metal ore on the crystal itself, i would advice against it. lead can cause health problems among anamals including fish.


EDIT: i withdrawl my previose statement. i asumed it was a form of geological significance in which you wanted to put in your aqurium...im sorry for the inconviniance

Last edited by johnnylaw1984 at 26-Oct-2004 10:23

Hi,
In this case, the term "crystal" is a grade of glass,
and is the highest grade of pure glass. Its made from
the finest quality, and purest sand. Lead is added
along with various "impurities" to color the glass.

With the addition of the lead, each item is naturally
heavier than a similiar item manufactured out of normal
glass.

The lead is securly locked within the material and
should be fine for the aquarium. At one time there
was some concern about Lead and human consumption.
But the lead crystal of today is not normally used
in dispensing food/drink for us.

Normally these become heirlooms and are passed from
generation to generation. Like an earlier post, I
don't see why one would put it in a tank where it will
become covered with bacteria and algae and then have
to be scrubbed. Eventually the scrubbing will remove
the shine and dull the surface.

Check out some of the sites for Crystal glass. I remember
touring the Corning Glass Works as a young teen and
watching the men blow the glass. I also remember touring
the store attached to the factory and seeing a simple
shot glass, crystal, selling for $75! The five figure
etched meat platters blew my mind.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Lead crystal is exactly that it contains lead, the higher ammount of lead is what makes it different from regular glass, although for the most part you can think of it as glass. Lead crystal has long been used to make goblets pitchers and jewlery, for the most part safe for humans although I'd be a bit cautious about adding it to the tank. @the very least it will eventually lose it's luster and sparkle.

See I learned something from my trip to waterford .

^_^


Edit: Frank beat me while I was hunting down waterfords site!.

*Proud member of the Committee for Sig Line Restoration*

Last edited by Babelfish at 26-Oct-2004 10:01[/font]

I found this:

Warning On Lead Crystal One study found that wine and acidic juices can draw the lead from lead crystal glassware.

I would doubt that tank water would have a low enough pH to make the lead leach out.

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

Thanks everyone for the replies!! Like I said, my husband bought it for me, thinking I would like to put it in one of my aquariums. I like things more natural..... I was hesitant because of the lead content. I like it just to hold in my hand and look at it, which I will probaby continue to do. Thanks again
Anna

A few years ago I was going through airport customs and the woman in the line ahead of me was carrying some large family heirloom crystal pieces (vases, bowls etc) as hand luggage. She had packed each piece very carefully in bubble-wrap and sealed it in cardboard boxes.

Unfortunately for her, although fine crystal looks transparent to the naked eye, airport x-ray machines cannot see through lead! Due to the high lead content in the crystal, they just showed as solid black masses on the x-ray screen. So the poor woman had to unpack every single piece of crystal and have it inspected by humans, to make sure there was nothing concealed in it.

So the point of this post is
a) there really is lead in crystal (as other posts had already established) and
b) if you ever need to x-ray your fish, don't try to do it through a crystal bowl

Ok, I admit this post has nothing to do with aquascaping! Delete it if you must!