Habitat - Indoor :: bricks in tank?

[ajozwiak]

I found an awesome square concrete brick at the construction site down the road and grabbed it for the tank. It's huge and hollow so the turtles could swim through it and large enough that they could stand on it and keep their heads above water. It's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for and it's great that I just found it for free. My question is - is this safe? I rinsed it off really well, but I don't know if it will just disintegrate in the tank or if it could poison the water or anything like that. Should I use it?

[grey goose]

If it's cinderbrick, it probably won't affect the water quality. But since it's a porus material, it will eventually break down.

[DavidY]

isn't there a possibility of it leaching alkali into the water? Also, are you putting it into a glass tank? How heavy is it? If it's a typical cinderblock, it will most likely crack through the bottom glass. I personally wouldn't use it, especially if it's from a construction site. You don't know what it's been around (gasoline, asbestos, etc).

[steve]

Good points guys! I'd also like to mention that it can be abrasive against your turtle's shell.

[Andrew7769]

if u have a pot big enough u could always try and boil it

[megcornell]

Better safe than sorry, I wouldn't use it. I personally think the floating docks are the best, they allow the most swimming space. If you'd like something for the turtles to swim through, some people buy large diameter pvc pipe, which is pretty cheap.