[agro]

Something of this sort. Was at Target the other day and picked up a few similiar to these for 1$ each. My first thought was to use as others use flat mesh to hold down mosses.

These aren't the same ones I have, just wondering how safe would it be in a shrimp tank? Unsure of what material it's made of since I tossed the tags but if I knew what to avoid I'll remember that when I go pick up a few more.

Another thing was the painted ones have some really easy to remove paint, but rather like the color of the black. So would using paint lacquer then repainting be safer? I have Krylon Basic Black, read multiple times that it's safe for inside aquarium after few days of leaving it dry and seal. Unsure how shrimp would take it though.

 

[colorfan]

depending whats its made from there is always the possibility that it might leech something unwanted in the water

 

[agro]

depending whats its made from there is always the possibility that it might leech something unwanted in the water

So what should I be avoiding? I'm aware that something may leech.

 

[aquarist]

You would want to avoid heavy metals, and a lot of chemicals that can be found in cheap paints. From what I have read shrimp are kind of sensitive to water conditions, and many things that would be okay for fish can be deadly for them.

 

[ravensgate]

I wouldn't use it. I use stainless steel mesh for my mosses.

 

[water-kitties]

I wouldn't use it in a shrimp tank. Who knows what is in that metal, and sometimes there is a metal paint coating to make it shiny as well. Cheap things like this from big stores I wouldn't trust. I mean there was that thing not long ago about lead in jewelry sold at these types of stores so I'm not sure I'd expect a mesh pencil holder to be any safer.

 

[dtrea2662]

A good option i use is a magnet. The most common stainless steels that are used are non magnetic. However aluminum, which can pass for stainless in appearance is also non magnetic. So then i use a judgement on the weight. If the object appears to be light for its size/structure then it is probably alluminum. And if something is painted or coated to look metallic, then that can often be visible in small crevices and seams. Hope this helps as this is just what i do when looking for stainless. As far as securing mosses, i usually go to a walmart or something of that fashion and get a green loofa for body wash. Let is soak in a mild bleach solution and then a prime solution and pull it apart. This stuff is really nice because it can stretch around rocks and such and has low vis with enough mesh spacing for mosses to grow through.

 

[35ppt]

Seems unlikely you would get a definitive, reliable idea on the content & safety.
What about using plastic canvas?

 

[scapegoat]

that will 100% rust.