Is galvanised steel ok to put in fish tanks.

[chrissyoscar]

I've made a mesh to cover my discus eggs out of chicken wire which is galvanised steel. My father in law told me I shouldn't use galvanised steel as it contains lead and I should take it out of the tank. This morning I went to check on my pair and noticed that they were in a corner and have darkened up.
Is it safe or not?
I'ld like to get some stainless steel and make a mesh from that anybody know where I can get something suitable from?

Thanks.. Oscar

[Proteus]

I will get straight to the point...

GET IT OUT NOW!!!

Lead is a poison, and will affect your fish.

Use the plastic gutter gaurd mesh, you can get it at Bunnings, Big W and most other large stores like that.

I would also place some carbon in a filter to remove any traces of lead, although if only in there for a short time it shouldnt be too bad.

[chrissyoscar]

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

OOPS It's out. I was told chicken wire was ok but obviously not.

I have'nt got time now as I'm about to go to work but when I get back tonight I'll do a 50% or more water change. I did do a 40% water change this morning and that seemed to pep them up a little. The chicken wire has been in there for anout 36hrs.

Oscar

[ml29]

Does stainless steel mesh have any effect on discus if submerged in water all the time?

[milt master p]

Galvanised steel mesh is coated with zinc which, similar to other heavy metals, at high levels can be extremely toxic to fish. The quality of zinc used in this application is often very poor and often contains high levels of lead. Keep up the water changes (heaps daily) and the activated carbon. Make sure that you throw the carbon out after a couple of weeks to prevent the heavy metals leaching back into your tank. In the next few weeks be wary of plant fertilizer which may have EDTA (used to chelate iron) as there is some evidence that it can enhance the oral absorption of lead (fish eat too).

Stainless steel of a high quality should be fine but if it rusts it is no good.

Have you thought about using a plastic type of mesh? Just make sure you wash all plastics before placing them in the tank as they themselves can have chemicals on them (unreacted monomeric nasties, plasticizers etc) that may harm your fish.

[flukes]

I have been using chicken wire for some time with no ill effects. Dont really sure what it is made of but i left it in the tank for weeks with no trouble.

Sorry oscar didnt mean to give you bad advice i thought it was ok... :?

[Proteus]

some chicken wire/mesh is fine....

just the galvanised (crumbly looking powder on the wire) is BAD NEWS!!!

[chrissyoscar]

I managed to do a water change yesterday afternoon before going to work. I changed about 40% and I also added 2 ammono balls.
I'm using sponge filters so adding carbon to my filter wasn't possible.
I also gave them some blood worms which they ate and they now seem to be back to normal.
Flukes, don't feel bad if I'd been using chicken wire for weeks with no problems I also would of recommended it. As Proteus said some wire is ok and some isn't.

I'll try using the plastic gutter guard for the next batch but if I can find some stainless steel I'ld prefer to use that as it has more weight to it.

Please if anybody is using stainless steel as a guard to cover the eggs please let me know where you got it from. I can't find anything suitable.

[ml29]

I use stainless steel for a different purpose. I've got a planted tank and a lfs sold me some stainless steel mesh, riccia and plastic mesh to go over the top. Over time the riccia will grow out through the plastic mesh forming a "carpet" of plants. The stainless steel can't be replaced otherwise it will float up.

Stainless steel mesh is very hard to source, I've tried.

[mtchye]

In Singapore, I saw in many LFS some sort of mesh, I think its stainless steel... they use them for planted tanks which are fairly popular there. Im sure it will not cost you much to buy some from there and ship it over.. I was almost going to buy a roll myself..

Cheers
Vincent

[chrissyoscar]

I found these at Bunnings today. A spice rack that I converted to a guard and a real nice teracotta pot. I haven't seen these at my local Bunnings but during my lunch break today I went to the one in the City (Melbourne) and there they were. They're 16cm wide and 20cm tall so they're a great size and as you can see the bottom hole is still plugged.
I gave up looking for a stainless steel mess so I went all over Bunnings looking for something suitable and the spice racks were ideal. They're plastic coated so they're fish friendly. The square holes are 20mm wide so the discus wont be able to get the eggs through that unless you sit it to close of course.