[Narmical]

You know those plastic decorations you can buy at the pet store? are they safe to put into a salt water tank?

do they leech any strange chemicals or anything?

Also what about legos? i have these visions of a floating lego pirate ship on top of the tank, or maybe lego divers in side :-P

any thoughts?

[FireEater]

I've seen people use them with no ill effects. Same with legos, but they would constantly have to remove them to clean them.

They do not stay pretty long without doing this. Algae can grow on them pretty fast.

[leebca]

Most plastics are okay for marine aquarium use. The problems sometime come from the molds and mold-release materials used to make the decoration. It is always a good idea to find out who manufactured them and send them an e-mail or take a look on their website to see if they specifically say their decorations can be used in the marine aquarium.

Some decorations are weighted down with lead. Okay for freshwater, but not for marine aquariums.

Regardless of what is said by the manufacturer, the aquarist is best to thoroughly clean the decoration, rinse in hot tap water, then rinse several times in RO/DI or distilled water.

The problem with some decorations is that they are not made of plastics, but of resins. Some of these kinds of decorations can cause the protein skimmer to 'go crazy.' Be sure it is either plastic or resin, then be sure it is suitable for marine aquariums directly from the manufacturer or if it is labeled for such use.

I don't know/can't say about Lego blocks!