Habitat - Indoor

Several years ago we went to a tiny Caribbean island and brought back several huge seashells. They range from maybe 8" to 12" in length. They were obviously from saltwater - but they sat out on my porch through season after season of NY weather - wind, rain, snow, ice, etc. and can't possibly still be 'contaminated' from their original resting place.

But I'm wondering if there is anything inherently 'dangerous' about the composition of saltwater seashells that make them unsuitable for a turtle tank - which is obviously freshwater (at least mine is :-)

. Maybe they release too much of some mineral that is dangerous - I have NO idea what I'm talking about and was hoping someone did.

I want to put a Manzanita branch back into both tanks as well - but that I already know is fine as long as I'm using Purigen to remove the tannins... which I will do.

I'm running sufficiently strong Hydor Koralia Evolution circulation pumps/fans - a 550 gph in the small tank and a 750 gph in the larger - to keep the debris on the bottom moving towards the filter's inlet nozzle - with the idea that even though there will be points where a branch touches the bottom (or a shell?) the Hydor Koralia will 'push' the debris around the obstacle sufficiently to get a clean bottom and have everything go to the inlet nozzle that should.

Thank you for your time and help!

I haven't heard of anything inherently bad about using sea shells and it should not have a drastic effect on your water quality. As with any thing you keep in your tank, make sure it is throughly cleaned and does not contain small pieces that can break off, pose as a choking hazard or has large pieces that can trap the turtle.

OK, I guess I can do it - I wish I felt more certain because you don't sound 100% certain. I'm afraid of what might leech into the water. They've been clean and dry as a bone for many years - first they sat out on our porch in Croton for years and got wind, rain, snow, and ice and all other weather acting on them - pretty much cleaning them of whatever they might have retained from Carribean waters. But can't shell composition vary (I don't even know what shell composition IS, no less whether it can be harmful)... or can't it slowly be giving off some mineral or other thing that might be harmful to turtles?

I'm asking VeipaCray about why he said I should get this Freshwater master test kit when the only mention he made of a specific test that seemed useful was nitrates... I'm not sure what the other tests are useful for if Nitrates are the leading indicator of the need for a water change... so the kit has PH, ammonia, and nitrite testing as well... but are they useful tests? I haven't heard back from VeipaCray in a while so I'm just wondering if you know.

I scanned through 75 posts regarding sea shells, only one person felt it might upset the pH balance in the water, but the main concerns are pieces being bit off and exposing a choking hazard or sharp edge.

All the tests are useful, especially if you are trying to maintain bio media in the tank. If you do regular, large water changes, then it might not be necessary to do that testing. Have you checked VeipaCray's other posts? I'm sure he explained it before and more eloquently than what I just said.

I only checked the posts that he and I exchanged and he suggested I get the larger kit - but then he focused on nitrates and hasn't had time yet (I guess) to reply to what his own thoughts are on the other tests. I scanned for the seashell issue before I asked you - to try not to waste your time :-)

but I didn't find as many as you did and I just wasn't feeling confident. It seems ok - assuming the Hydor Koralia can indeed push debris past it - I would rather have no standing turtle waste (trapped by a shell) than a decoration that is trapping waste. The Manzanita branches will naturally have few points of contact with the tank bottom - so they aren't really an issue -but a big shell could conceivably block a lot of waste regardless of the pump. Guess I have to try it out and see. I'm just trying to think of decorations for the tank that I don't have to spend MORE money on :-)

Thanks for your help. I seriously appreciate it.

Habitat - Indoor :: Can I put a large (12" or so) SEA SHELL in the tank?

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