Which of these are safe for Aquariums? Terracotta/Limestone/white marble?

[Necromencer]

Hey there,

I'm a classicist, and I'm more focused on the languages rather than the history-society of Ancient Greece/Rome. My 200L tank is going to be classically themed, while trying to maintain some sort of 'natural' look for the frogs, so they don't feel incredibly alienated.

My initial idea was to buy replica Greek pottery (like this: GREEK GOD HAND MADE TERRA COTTA TRINKET BOX MUSEUM REPLICA | eBay)

^However, I wouldn't want to risk it, since I didn't know what paint was used, same with materials. I don't want anything toxic or anything that could foul the water. So I've decided that I'll make my own Ancient Greek inscription, rather than buy one (this would be impossible anyway, either you buy an original inscription for thousands or an incorrect inscription sold to the mass for whatever reason)

So, not being very familiar with this particular area in frog keeping, could somebody please tell me what material/mineral/rock I could use that is completely safe and easy to crave onto? (I'll be carving the text onto the rock myself, and I may top it off with Acrylic paint later, since I've read that this is Aquarium-safe)


In short, I'm looking for:

A) A slate, nothing too heavy or chunky
B) Clean and safe for aquariums. Smooth rock would be prefered, since my frogs have delicate webbing, wouldn't want to hurt them!
C) Easy to scrape, carve and engrave
D) If possible, easily accessible and cheap

The general materials used in classical epigraphy were terracotta, crystalline limestone or white marble (among others such as wood and precious metals), but the question is, which one is the safest for an aquarium?

Here is the text I'm planning on engraving:

Aristophanes's Frogs

This text is rather amusing, Aristophanes being one of the older and most famous comedy writers of Classical Greece, definitely the best of the 'Old Comedians', in contrast with the later 'New Comedians', such as Menander (whose comedy is rather dry, and not funny). You may have heard of somebody having Aristophanic Behaviour, as somebody who has a juvenile sense of humour. The part that I want to engrave for my tank is quite relevant. The title of the opus is indeed 'Frogs', and there is a particular section in which the frogs croak, and the Ancient Greek variant of a frog's sound is used. I think this will be an excellent piece to have as an inscription in my tank of Xenopus Tropicalis, it makes sense! Plus, it's a nice topic/conversation starter.

Here is the text in the original language:


βρεκεκεκὲξκοὰξκοάξ, (This is the most interesting part of this segment, here we have the onomatopoeic sound of the frogs. Basically, here we have the
210βρεκεκεκὲξκοὰξκοάξ. Croak-Croak of Ancient Greek. The transcription goes as: Brekekekekeks Koaks Koaks. The passage continues with a description
λιμναῖακρηνῶντέκνα, of some meadows and general scenery)
ξύναυλονὕμνωνβοὰν
φθεγξώμεθ᾽, εὔγηρυνἐμὰνἀοιδάν,
κοὰξκοάξ,
215ἣνἀμφὶΝυσήιον
ΔιὸςΔιόνυσονἐν
Λίμναισινἰαχήσαμεν,
ἡνίχ᾽ὁκραιπαλόκωμος
τοῖςἱεροῖσιΧύτροισι
χωρεῖκατ᾽ἐμὸντέμενοςλαῶνὄχλος.
220βρεκεκεκὲξκοὰξκοάξ.


I'll appreciate any help or advice regarding the topic. I've posted on a different section of this forum and sadly the only reply I got was almost entirely off-topic. So any comment on-topic would be great!

Thanks! If all goes well, I'll be posting pictures and updates, I'm sure this is a unique project

[deranged chipmunk]

i sort of answered this in your other thread, but you did include terra cotta in this one. terracotta is safe, it is used as breeding cones for discus breeding all the time. in fact, a friend of mine who breeds high end discus uses them exclusively.