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Is the weight used to band together and hold down stemmed plants made of lead? If it is, does that mean that lead is inert in water?

I ask this for two reasons: 1) If it's not inert, then I'd rather not have it in my tank (and yes, I only just thought of this after a couple of decades or so of fish-keeping ); and 2) If it is, then could I use fishing lures to weigh down driftwood pieces?

I vote! Do you?

The lead will leach into the water as the weights are not coated- so I do not recommend them. Fishing lures can work, but be careful , as they can also contain lead. You can try holding in place with rocks till the plants develope a root system and attach to a clump of gravel

http://www.fishprofiles.com/site/aquarank.aspx

Hi,
I've found several postings about these weights.
Decades ago they were lead. However, since the EPA has
tightly regulated lead, there is some question as to if
these things are actually lead, and not another metal such
as Zinc.

You might check with the folks were you got the plants
from, or better yet, try one or two of the large mail
order plant suppliers, such as Arizona Gardens and ask
them.

Here is one of several sites I found:

http://fishprofiles.com/files/threads/35885.1.htm?1#

Frank


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

I've used sinkers in the past, with no apparent ill-effects. Of course, that doesn't mean there weren't any, nor that I didn't end up with more exposure during water changes etc.

Agree with Frank though, All of the plant weights I've seen aren't actually lead.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

if they are lead or not wouldnt metals in he tank be a no no.

1-Ancistrus triradiatus 4-Gymnocorymbus ternetzi 2-Danio frankei
2-Danio rerio 2-Danio Starfire 2-Chromobotia macracanthus 2-Erpetoichthys calabaricus 4-Ampullariidae 1-Mastacembelus erythrotaenia

Frank - I wouldn't say that lead is really that tightly regulated by the EPA. Ask anyone who's into ammunition reloading (very cost-effective for target shooters like my dad and brother), you can get lead wheel weights from pretty much any automotive shop, usually for free. I think the ones you'd use in a tank are mostly plastic-coated, but I've seen a little oxidation on some of the ones I've used (could have been the ones that came with the plants). By the way, the link in your post leads back to this thread.

I think the amount of lead that will dissolve into the water from a small item like a plant weight in aquarium conditions is negligible if you follow a good water change regimen. You might want to avoid using them in a tank used for raising feeder fish/inverts, as lead is a toxin that bioaccumulates. But for a regular planted tank, I doubt that your fish are exposed to enough lead for a long enough period of time to cause noticeable ill effects.

><>

Sorry,

I totally disagree that the amount of lead that is released into the water is negligible with respect to the health of fish! Generations of people managend to achieve levels of lead in their bodies high enough to cause health problems ranging from digestion problems to mood swings to slight mental retardation by occasionally sipping some wine from cocktail glasses containg minimal amounts of lead. Take into account the body mass of a small ornamental fish and you will understand that it is not safe for these animals to have a potential health hazard in their 'living room'.

And yet millions of children have slept in cribs covered in lead paint before we found out it wasn't a good idea and the vast majority made it out ok...

Anyway, we're talking about fish, not people. Not that I'm minimizing the importance of their health, but fish biology is on the complete opposite end of the vertebrate spectrum from humans. I've been using lead weights years now, haven't had any mysterious illnesses or deaths, no fish gone off food or showing any kind of mental retardation (not sure what that looks like in a fish, maybe repeatedly swimming into the glass?). Preventing buildup of toxic chemicals is WHY we do water changes. It's not so much about the body mass of the animal, it's about the concentration. The concept is a little more noticeable in aquaria, but it's true in terrestrial animals too - you'd take certain medications in different amounts based on your weight - which is related to your volume - you'd treat an aquarium fish based on the volume of water in which it resides. The better you are about doing water changes, the less water stays in the tank for an extended period of time and the better the tank environment approximates a natural water body, where the water changes constantly. So unless your water change schedule is less frequent than bi-weekly (which I'd seriously reconsider unless you're extremely understocked), I personally wouldn't panic about lead plant weights (which aquarists have been using for decades, and I have yet to hear of any fish health problems related to them). Chances are you unknowingly release dozens of more fish-toxic chemicals into the water when you clean your tank than lead - stuff like traces of soaps on your hands or the faucet you get your water from - I'm more concerned with minimizing the chances of getting things like that in the water.

><>

i agree with both points to a extent, however i think the purpose of keeping fish is to enjoy and provide the best possiable conditions putting things like lead which isnt really needed to hold plants down goes against the idea of keep out no no's . i personally wouldnt want to use any metal be it SOFT or hard to hold plants down.

1-Ancistrus triradiatus 4-Gymnocorymbus ternetzi 2-Danio frankei
2-Danio rerio 2-Danio Starfire 2-Chromobotia macracanthus 2-Erpetoichthys calabaricus 4-Ampullariidae 1-Mastacembelus erythrotaenia

Hi,
While the question is, in itself, a good one, in a sense
we are making much ado about nothing when it comes to
using the "lead" weights to hold down plants in our tanks.

As far as fish are concerned Lead is the 3RD most toxic
element with only Mercury and Copper being more potent.
For Lead, the Heavy metal Standards for humans and
fish are:
0.015 (ppm) for humans and 0.1 (ppm) for fish.
There is a huge amount of difference between the two.
In tanks without plants, the lead could accumulate between
water changes, but then, diluting the "Stew" is why we
do water changes in the first place.

In tanks with plants, the plants take the lead out of the
water and store it in their tissue. The faster they grow
the concentration lessens as the lead is distributed over
a larger area. It is the slower growing plants that can
allow heavy metals to build up to levels where it can cause
problems.

The factors that moderate the toxicity are:
pH, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), Artificial Chelators,
Variation between species, Growth, and soils.

As far as how much lead will inhibit the growth of plants
is concerned, "They" have found that to limit the growth
by 50% of Spirodela polyrhiza (Giant duckweed) it took
concentrations of 3.7mg/l in the soil, and 6,730mg/l
in the plant tissue to limit the growth of the plant.
I seriously doubt that we could ever accumulate that much
lead in our tanks with those weights when used correctly.

For more detailed information, see ECOLOGY OF THE PLANTED
AQUARIUM, Diana Walstad, CH2, PP 9-19.

When we want to root stemmed plants, we should take a
pair of sharp scissors and snip off about a 1/2 inch
of plant at the bottom. Then we wrap the band, loosely,
around 2 or 3 stems, and set the bundle on the substrate
where we want the plants to grow roots. After that we
should leave them undisturbed for at least two weeks.
I leave them alone for a month.
This allows the new roots to grow from the fresh cut stem
into the gravel and start to develop a branching root
system. Once the stems are rooted, we should unwrap the
band and remove it.

IMO, the use of the metal albeit briefly should not
affect our fish or our plants. We are not going to
leave the bands out for our children to chew on.
They, along with our testing chemicals, fish
medications, and plant fertilizers should be locked
up out of their reach.
So I don't think there is any problem with their use.

Frank


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

Thanks frank it usually takes a scientific equation to make people say....oh!as for the weights i'll use them for years to come.their a great tool.

Est solarus uth mithas,My honor is my life