[Glank27]

I wonder if "normal" sea shells sold vastly on ebay are fine with the water chemistry for the african set-up. I just need some confirmation prior to purchasing.

 

[JoelRHale]

I use turbo snail shells from my reef system as decoration in my African tank. Just be sure to boil them for 15 minutes or so. To be extra sure I'd boil them, then rinse them out with warm water, then boil them again to be extra sure there was nothing harmful.

Make sure the air is out of the shells too. Submerge them in water them turn the opening up and then roll the shells the opposite direction the spiral runs to let all the air out. When you rinse it you'll be surprised how much junk is deep inside the shell.

As for chemistry, a hundred pounds of substrate and rockwork make a very small impacted on your parameters, a bunch of shells would do even less. Good luck!

 

[Glank27]

Thanks joel, very interesting and detailed explanation.

 

[JoelRHale]

No problem, just be sure to post pictures when it's all set up! I'm really considering a shelly tank in the next little bit. Their interesting behavior has been growing on me.

 

[Frazee86]

I use escargot shells picked up 36 while back for 20$ and they work nice

 

[hsd]

I use whale eyes, bought them from ebay. Cost was around $10-15 for one pound of shells, was roughly 75-100 shells.

 

[prov356]

I wonder if "normal" sea shells sold vastly on ebay are fine with the water chemistry for the african set-up. I just need some confirmation prior to purchasing.

They're fine as far as water chemistry, but the ones that get really narrow inside quickly can trap fish. You can find escargot shells pretty cheaply online. Try Marky's.