Are Lead Weights Toxic in Saltwater?

slt

New Member
Has anyone done any research into this? I can't seem to find anything on the net negative about lead weights in saltwater. I did find a comment about acidic water & lead, but even that was only an assumption.
Steve
 

slt

New Member
Hi Beth,
I have a 300 gal saltwater pond in my backyard, with a clear roof to keep out rainwater. Actually it is high brackish - 1.014. I keep clams, oysters, mollies & shrimp in it. This is the fresh food source of some very spoiled fish in my house. The circulation in the pond is pretty strong & the plastic plants I have in it for shelter & spawning were being tossed about. I wonder is plastic coating the weights would be an answer? Stainless steel nuts or bolts would probably work, but I bet they would eventually rust.
Thanks,
Steve
 

nomad

Member
Put a bunch of silicon around the base of the fake plant and then attach them to rocks that are big enough not to get toss around excessively. You could also roll the silicon covered base in pebbles (e.g. large FW aquarium substrate) just make sure that you press them firmly into the silicon so that they don't get knocked off later. The heavy bases can be buried in pond substrate so that the plants are closer to the substrate or they can just be placed with their rocky bottoms on the substrate. Be sure to cure the silicon for 1-2 days in SW with circulation after it dries and then rinse well before putting the plant in your lagoon. Hope this helps.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Why use fake plants? Can't you use real plants? I'm not really that familiar with brackish tanks.
If it were me, I just wouldn't risk it.
 

slt

New Member
I could possibly find live plants, but most of my pond is over 3ft deep in the ground to keep the water cool (78°) for the shrimp (not bad for our 100° days here in Texas), and extra long live plants are hard to find. Someone suggested that I silicon rocks to my plants instead. That might be the best idea. My pond has the exact salinity as Galveston Bay which is an hour away. I am trying to create a similar environment (waves & all). Squid would be cool, but my ghost shrimp ganged up on my last ones and killed them (sad).
Steve
 
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