craft clay. is it aquarium safe?

hey guys so i want to make some small stuff for one of my tanks and i was wondering if that terracota clay you get in craft shops and fire in an oven is safe? my ma has a proper kiln and clay and stuff but it is a huge one (she used to teach pottery) and would be too big for a few small goodies. i thought the craft clay might be the answer since i can just use a normal. what are your thoughts?

and then i was thinking for the lil colour i want i could used food colouring before firing...

 

If you fire it up to bisque ware or higher to stoneware - it will be completely inert in water - Food colouring will just burn off,but using slips and glazes will also be inert at stoneware temperatures as the chemical reactions between the metal oxides are permanent.... So go for it!!!

 

Its been proven that it will only work if you post pictures of the end products afterwards...

+1 @azurekoi

 

@Mzungu - miss spent youth sitting up till all hours waiting for kilns to get to temperature....lol

 

Misspent? I beg to differ sir.... I wish I still did pottery, sadly, the older, artistic brother is the only one who might still have time/be any good

 

lol i'm trying to avoid the kiln if possible. my moms one is huge like it'll take a whole night to fire and it needs 3 phase electricity which we dont have and all i want is 3 lil figurines. hence the idea of the craft clay that you buy in like 500g bricks from cna and so on and bake in a normal oven.

lol @azurekoi i'm sure my mom can relate she was a potter really good on the wheel and she used to let us run wild in her studio as kids. i've never got the hang of the wheel though, i tend to send my clay flying across the room at high velocities lol. she sold most of her stuff including the glazes so im abit limited in materials

 

There are lots of potters who give classes from home who for a small fee will fire your stuff for you + supply the materials - rather look into that... I know the clays you are refering to - dont think they will be inert underwater though - just a feeling though...maybe go speak to an knowledgeable art shop owner bout it....

 

Why not try get your hands on some pvc clay then? Plus, you wont have to colour it, as you can buy it in the colours you want? I do believe they are aquarium safe, and can be cured at low temps

 

hmmmm i'm going to greenstone on friday i'll ask the art shop there. otherwise i'll look for a pottery school somewhere near home nearly done for the year so i'll have some time on my hands. i miss playing with clay and doing ceramics. that was my forte' its unfortunate that its another hobby that seems to be dying like needlepoint and cross stitch

@Mzungu what is pvc clay? is that those lil blocks that look like plastacine? i got some metallic ones i think..... hmmmm another option

 

@windfire, there is a company called Studio 12 on Van Riebeeck ave in Edenvale. That's where I got my clay from and only paid R15 per kg.

HTH

 

PVC, or polymer, clay is pvc with some sort of agent that makes it pliable. When heated, this agent breaks down and it hardens. Some people have used it in their aquariums. Plasticine is not the same as PVC clay, to my knowledge plasticine doesnt harden. http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/50149262/Sculpey_111_Polymer_Clay_TAN_301.html (I dont know the regulations of redirecting you their, but there are many colours available from them)
Good luck!

 

@Skye01 thanks i think i'll try the pvc clay first since i can use the diferent colours. otherwise i'll try the place on van riebeek, do they do classes as well?

thanks @Mzungu it was the stuff i was thinking of its a nice medium to work with

 

Yes as far as I know they do do classes...

 

cool i got the pvc clay on friday and its so easy to work with and alot of fun, throw in my moms pottery tools and im having a blast got the head done just gota fix the body its a lil harder lol