Sculpy Clay

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

its the kind of clay you can bake and it hardens up. i've been e-mailing the company about it. here's our emails:

I was planning on using your clay for aquarium ornaments and I had a few questions to ask. Will your polymer clay hold up underwater after I bake it? Will it harm the fish?Thanks in advance.


Thank you for contacting Polyform Products. While all of our products are completely non-toxic, we have not done any testing on Sculpey in aquariums. I would recommend visiting message boards and forums to find out what others have experienced. I have not heard of any problems, but I am not involved in the aquarium community. There are some glazes that can be applied to Sculpey to make it water resistant, but as these glazes are made by different companies, I am not sure of their effect on fish. Sculpey can be placed in water without a glaze, but over time a whitish film may develop on the surface. This film can be wiped off with a cloth. I am sorry I do not have additional information for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions.


One more questions. Is there any lead in the sculpy clay?

No, there is no lead in our clays. All of our products are non-toxic and do not contain any wheat, nut, dairy, animal by-products, sulfur or any other typical allergens. Essentially, our polymer clay is comprised of PVC resin, plasticizer, calcium carbonate and color pigments.

so could i use it?

 

[idlefingers]

I have no experience with Sculpey (other than looking at some pretty cool models made with it!), but personally, I wouldn't risk it. Maybe with a suitable glaze or sealant it'd be okay, but you never know what traces of different chemicals it might leave in your water.

After reading the-wolf's (i think) posts on different rocks and reading other things about ceramic pots, etc. I'd be super wary of putting something like that in my tank.

Check google for Sculpey+Aquarium (http/www.google.co.uk/search?q=Sculpey%2Baquarium) .. I found this:

Need Clarification about Sculpey sealers 8/3/06
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwaquascapfaqs.htm
I read the article about using Sculpey to make tank decorations, but I'm not sure if the sealer I have is safe to use. The article said
"What sealant is safe to use?
<For Sculpey, I use acrylic media (the stuff that's just the acrylic polymer). I haven't tried either plaster or concrete.>"
I don't know how to tell if my sealer meets those qualifications. I use (for all my other Sculpey projects) Folk Art's Clearcote Hi-shine Glaze by Plaid. It doesn't have a list of ingredients, but it does say on the back "Contains: Acetone, Toluene"
Can I use this product to seal my fish's Sculpey decorations? If I can't, can you tell me a product that can? Not just the chemical make up, but like a brand name or something more specific? Because I can't seem to find something that's label 'acrylic polymer' I haven't had enough chemistry classes yet to know by heart : )
I love your site, it's been a wonderful help to my roommate and I, who now have some 20 odd fish, spread across fifty gallons in various tanks. We've become quite the little fish fans with your help! Thanks again!
<Mmm: Sculpey: http/www.sculpey.com/... the solvents listed should "all be gone" through evaporation within a day of their application here. I do think you'd be okay using this, submersing the products in a biological system once they're cured. Otherwise, coating these sculptures with epoxy paint, latex based acrylics should also be chemically inert. Bob Fenner>

Hope this helps!

Be sure to post a pic of your creation should you decide to go ahead!

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

thanks alot! one of the people on here offered to make them if sculpey wouldnt work - i just don't have enough for it at the moment.