I'm still planning my aquarium setup but one thing I've wanted since the beginning was to use Shells I got form my honeymoon to make a "reef." What I have is a bunch of large(larger than your hand) broken spiral shells that have basically turned to rock. I don't think their fakes shells, as they have a complete spirals all the way through and most fakes don't. These have either been covered in silt for a long long time or on the beach covered in sand for a long long time as they're basically petrified shells. What I need to know is whether or not they'll be safe for using in an aquarium, and if so how I can properly sanitize them. They've been in a box for a year now(our honeymoon was a year ago) and I've rinsed out all the sand. I also have a a small bag full or sand/broken tiny shells and was wondering if that work mixed in with gravel for a more natural look. Any help/tips would be appreciated. I've got alot of planning to do.

Well, thats why I call it a "reef." It's basically just gonna be a big structure made out of all the shells siliconed or cemented together to make alot of great hiding places and what not. A nice large structure. It's definetaly gonna be a freshwater tank until I getter better at keeping fish alive. I had issues in the past, but I'm more resposible now so I should do ALOT better.

Make sure to watch your pH, put them in a bucket of neutral water with a small powerhead and see what happens after a week or so.
It might rise and thats bad because remember the higher your pH, the more toxic any ammonia that may be in your tank becomes.

I'll keep that in mind. I've got a while before I set up my aquarium, heck I don't even have one yet. The shells at at my parents so when I go up there tommorrow I'll get them and a PH test from petsmart and see what they do. Should I go head and boil them first? Adn would that affect their color?

Boiling them will clean them off, probably enhance the color before it would dull them out. But boiling them wont prevent any long term leaching of carbonates if thats your plan.

I'm just concerned about sterilizing them. I'll have to run them in water a while to see if they leach too much. Hopefully they won't. If not, is there anyway of coating them in silicone?

I put shells from north carolina into my tank and noticed after a few weeks that the tank was becoming cloudy and the ph went way up. I tried to wait it out but had to pull them as they kept on clouding the water. I kept a few in a glass to check it and sure enough, white cloudy water. I dont recommend it personally.

I thought that the more acidic the ph, the stronger ammonia gets..... anyways, have you decided what fish to stock this tank with? african mbuna would make a stunning display! also, you'll probably find a few babies hiding in the shells....

__________________
~Daniel

the grass was greener on the other side, but when your a fish.... not good.....
Spanish words of the day!

1. HERPES - Me and my fren ordered pizza. I got mine piece and she got herpes.
2. WHEELCHAIR - We only have one enchalada left, but don't worry, wheelchair.
3. BRIEF - Maria fart in my car and it stinkie so bad I could not brief.

(this is just a joke, no offense intended! enjoy)

I'm hoping since alot of them look petrified, an not like shells anymore that they'll be more like rocks and not leech as much or at all. I guess i'll just have to see.