Item Subject: Text_1
>Zeb Swinney wrote:
>>
>
>>I've seen the small lead stips that are wrapped around the stem of plants
to >>keep them ancored down. Will the lead harm the plants or leach into
the >>water and hurt the fish? It is toxic to humans and I am leary of
putting it >>in my tank but it would be useful to ancor the plants without
using the peat >>blocks. Are there any other alternatives?
>>
>>Thanks
Zeb :
I have always wondered about those lead weights. But they're so convenient
that I sometimes use them. About 6 months ago I used some to attach some
Java ferns to a piece of driftwood. By now the ferns have covered the wood
to a large extent (a very nice effect). However, at the point where I had
put the lead into a crevice into the wood, there was a nice ring of orange
around it, and the java ferns did not grow there. Just like those
antibiotic pads on agar plates. So, it seems there is some toxic effect, at
least when the lead comes into contact with certain substances (that would
for instance be found in driftwood). I now tie my java ferns onto things
with nylon fishing line.
Bob Veselis
Pelham Manor, NY, USA
veselisr at mskcc_org
71204.1653 at compuserv_com
who moved "oot" of the frozen north to the sunny south(?) and now catches zees
instead of zeds when I can.