# Working with Polymer Clay?



## Ape-Fish (Jul 1, 2006)

It comes in various brands. 
Does anyone know if this stuff is safe for tank creations? The author claims it is "perfectly safe" but, safe for what they didn't say... :?

http://www.crafts-for-all-seasons.com/w ... -clay.html


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## shumway (Jul 12, 2006)

> Before you begin, a few important notes. Working with polymer clay is very safe, but you shouldn't eat while working with the clay. Wash your hands well after using it. Some common tools that are used for polymer clay are also kitchen tools (a pasta machine, garlic press, rolling pin). Never use your tools that have touched the polymer clay for anything else in the kitchen. Once it has been used for polymer clay it is devoted to be a clay tool forever


As soon as i seen that i was put off :?


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

whats not mentioned in this bit


> Working with polymer clay is very safe, but you shouldn't eat while working with the clay.


is that when "raw" its poisonous if eaten.

admittedly baking it may well make it safe, but its not something I would risk with any of my fish

I did find a MSDS sheet but there isn't a lot of info on it. says its non toxic if used "as intended"

I would suspect emailing one of the manufacturers might be worth finding out if its safe (but dont be surprised if they say they have no clue


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## Ape-Fish (Jul 1, 2006)

Good find! :thumb: Thanks. I'll do some more digging. opcorn: 
I think it may be made of sticky plastic grains that meld when you heat it... that would explain why getting it in your food before heating is not a good idea. :lol: Maybe after it is all in one piece it's like any other plastic... :dancing:


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## morzan280 (Jul 10, 2008)

*** been wanting to make some caves with this stuff for a while so 2 weeks ago i went and got 2 diffrent brands and made caves with them... i then put em in a 2.5 gallon tank with filtration running and the first {sculpey} dident do anything noticable to the water but when i went to touch it a week later to see if it was breaking down or dissolving i found that it was slimey to the touch but wasent dissolving or lossing its form :? ... the next brand {fimo} did the exact same thing except when i looked at the output of the underground filter i noticed there were lots off bubbles and foam coming out :-? ... there still running in the 2.5 gallon so ill keep you updated if something new happens... or if you want me to try and test it a new way then just ask so you dont have to test yourself {i planned to put a little guppy or something in there to see if the water is liveable but i no longer plan on useing the stuff so i dident but if you guys-gals want me to then i can opcorn: }


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## Ape-Fish (Jul 1, 2006)

Thanks morzan280! That would be an excellent experiment if you can do it! Do you think the slimey feel could be bacteria? If so that would be OK, and shows the surface is not extremely toxic or something... :fish:


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## MightyM (May 15, 2004)

I have used polymer clay before...it is non toxic design for kids craft, oven baked for about 30 minutes then let it cured in a bucket of water for a few days. you might see the water in the bucket become chalky, if so just change the water. after about 3 days it is ready to be put in your tank...if the clay cracks it means you didnt develope it good enough, you really have to spend some time playing with it to get the air bubbles out. be aware not to over cooked the clay as the fumes are nasty and is really toxic for your lungs. gluck


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## morzan280 (Jul 10, 2008)

The slimey stuff isent bacteria or algae but i can see that there is algae growing on it  ... tonight ill wipe of the slime and change the water to see if it comes back then ill add a little fish to see what happens opcorn: {oh and if theres anything else you want to be tested than just ask as i love testing things  }


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## morzan280 (Jul 10, 2008)

ok i just changed the water and wiped off alot of the slime-algae... oh and while emptying the tanks i noticed there was about 60+ mosquito larve in several diffrent phases swimming and wiggling around :-? so thats a test already showing that the water isent toxic =D> {ill keep testing tho  }


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