# Porus nontoxic sculpting material?



## Fortuna Wolf (Feb 3, 2007)

I'm looking for a porus, nontoxic, sculpting material with which to make structures for moss and ferns to grow on. I would use terra cotta or another clay but I don't have access to a kiln. 

Any suggestions? I don't want to use wood because I would rather not deal with tannins leeching into the water and making it more acidic than it already is.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

Have you considered using rope?
In this post spypet shows some of the potential that this medium can provide.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...nification-needed-distinguish-moss-types.html


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## EcoGeek (Jun 26, 2007)

My wife has used a product called Sculpey, which is a polymer clay. You can bake it in an oven rather than a kiln. I don't know that anyone has tested it for use in an aquarium, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission has tested it and determined it is non-toxic. And it is a really easy to use sculpting material.

http://www.sculpey.com/Products/PR_ACMI.htm


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## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

Here's more about sculpey:

http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/shop/porous_test.htm


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

> I would use terra cotta or another clay but I don't have access to a kiln.


 You can fire clay without a kiln by using a pit fire. This is described online and also in more detail in the book "Making Native American Pottery" by M. Simpson.


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## greenisgood (Dec 19, 2004)

Have you thought of using lava rock chunks?


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## Fortuna Wolf (Feb 3, 2007)

I didn't think of using lava rock chunks. Those should be relatively carvable and, IIRC, are foamed glass so they'll be inert, right? 

I'm going to try molding some sculpey first and then baking it for several hours to 200F to degas it and drive off any residual plasticizers that would be toxic to fish, and then I'll sit it in the tank that I'm setting up with fish and plants and see how it does - fish will be added after the plants grow out in a month so I'll see what happens to it over a month. 

If sculpey fails I'll get lava rock and carve that.


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## tabasj (Aug 12, 2006)

http://www.polygem.com/zoo/ezsculpt.php

Hope this helps............


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The lightweight "lava rock", which is really gray pumice can be a problem in an aquarium. If you scratch a piece of that rock you smell a strong sulfur smell, probably sulfur dioxide. I don't think that should be in the water. Pumice stone gets to be that frothy, lightweight stuff by being blown up when hot with volcanic gases, which have a lot of sulfur in them.


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## MarsNoir88 (12 mo ago)

Fortuna Wolf said:


> I didn't think of using lava rock chunks. Those should be relatively carvable and, IIRC, are foamed glass so they'll be inert, right?
> 
> I'm going to try molding some sculpey first and then baking it for several hours to 200F to degas it and drive off any residual plasticizers that would be toxic to fish, and then I'll sit it in the tank that I'm setting up with fish and plants and see how it does - fish will be added after the plants grow out in a month so I'll see what happens to it over a month.
> 
> If sculpey fails I'll get lava rock and carve that.





Fortuna Wolf said:


> I'm looking for a porus, nontoxic, sculpting material with which to make structures for moss and ferns to grow on. I would use terra cotta or another clay but I don't have access to a kiln.
> 
> Any suggestions? I don't want to use wood because I would rather not deal with tannins leeching into the water and making it more acidic than it already is.


I would love to know what your results with polymer clay were.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Welcome to APC!

Amazingly, this discussion is 14 years old! You are not likely to get a reply from any of the other posters. I suggest you start a new discussion, you will get better response.


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