Lobster trap

[oralsturgeon]

I am designing a 580 gallon tank and I want to incorporate a used, broken lobster trap and bouy into the tank itself. Everytime I dive or snorkel in Florida, I find one of these and it usually has a ton of life on it.

What would be the downside to using an aged trap?
I have read that you should not place wood into the tank. Why?

 

[TitansFan]

maybe the reason wood should not be in a reef tank is because of its tendacy to "soften" the water and drive down the PH. Atleast thats what it does in freshwater tanks.

 

[oralsturgeon]

The ability to soften the water, in freshwater tanks that you mention, is that old drift wood? or freshly cut wood?

 

[cristhiam]

Not sure but if it's all covered with coraline algea and life probably won't do anything plus your tank is large and large water volume. You can post this or ask Randy in the chemistry forum to see how might interact in a closed environment.

 

[r00onmac]

i think its a fabulous idea... i agree... every time i go diving here i see all kinds of old/broken traps and last time i counted like 50 hermits and played with some small fish just 50 yards off south beach

 

[kryppy]

If its all full of coral, I wouldn't want to get caught with it on the way home.

 

[r00onmac]

idk what the law here considers liverock... like can a wooden manmade trap be considered liverock... anyway... if they dont consider it live rock you can take it along with all the rics that may be attached if you have a saltwater fishing license...

 

[oralsturgeon]

im acutally going to legally buy it from a lobster harvesting company.

 

[Paul B]

Although I put all sorts of stuff in my reef you really should not put in a lobster trap for a few reasons. The wire that holds the wood together is galvanized, zinc is worse for inverts than copper, second wood decomposes. I know it takes years as I find lobster traps all the time too but in the sea it doesen't matter, in a tank I think you would have problems in a very short time. The new traps that they use here in NY are plastic coated wire. They don't look as nice though. I think the safest way to put a lobster trap in there is to coat it with fiberglass resin as I did with this can but it would mean taking the thing apart and doing each slat seperately then replacing the wire with something else. Good luck