Aquarium Rocks

[Mr. Convict]

Hey ppl, tomorrow i'm gonna get a ton of rocks for my aquarium, and seeing as i've only ever had a few improvised caves i have some questions

1) do the rocks go on the bottom of the tank, or on the substrate?

2) so i have to stick all the rocks together with silicone or can i leave them if i'm confident its stable (which is usually done?)

3) can i lean the rocks on the back of the aquarium? or will it crack/break (its probably alot or rocks, if its a little, can i?)

4) will i ever have to carry on any kind of maintainance on the rocks themselves?

5) is there any sure way to geh algae growth on the rocks but not screw up my tank

i'm going to completely redo my tank, will try to get pics.. dont have a cover will get one specially made i hope, i'm only a teen with so much cash

thanks in advance

 

[africantigerfish7]

1) It depends. I put mine on the substrate of my mbuna tank because they like to burrow under the rocks

2) I've never used silicone, but if I kept large heavily built fish I would

3) It depends on the thickness and material of your back. Generally you don't want to lean it on glass as it will scratch the surface

4) Not really, but you'll have to clean the substrate under them and around them. If they get noticeably dirty rinse them outside.

5) Never tried, so I can't say

 

[Nick Sw]

Definitly place the rocks either on the base of the tank or on egg crate this will reduce the chances of any digging induced rock falls, then place the sand around the rocks.

 

[Mr. Convict]

Thanks a lot nick and barracuda, but i have another question...

I got my rocks today, but my sis came back from the BEACH with some rocks, as soon as she said she got them at the beach, i told her i couldn't use it.. but when i saw the rocks, they were literally like the best looking rocks i've ever seen, pitch black with streaks of pearly white, so i wanna know, is there any way at all, i could possibly make these rocks safe for my aquarium? as they would fit right in...

Thanks again, and thanks in advance

 

[dthoffsett]

I don't see any reason why you can't use the rocks from the beach. There are several ways to clean them before putting them in the tank. If they are small enough you can boil them in a stock pot to kill off any bacteria, you can also soak them for a couple of days in a bucket of bleach water (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) then rinse, rinse, rinse. Or if they are very large, you can clean them off w/a power washer.


I would definately place the rocks directly on the bottom glass of the tank (or one eggcrate if you like), I've had fish crushed by falling rock before, believe me they will dig constantly. No special care as far as cleaning goes, just vacuum around them. When I add water (I have a python system) I usually spray water between the rocks to get out any junk in between them. If you're lucky they will grow a nice layer of algae for the fish to munch on. I wouldn't lean any rocks on the glass, there's enough pressure on the glass from the water in the tank, no reason to add more. I've never used silicone, just stack securely.

Hope I helped answer your questions, and make sure you post pics, we just love pics.

 

[Mr. Convict]

Lol, thanks A LOT, u answered everything needed lol, When the cam gets fixed, i'm goin picture crazyyy lol

i'm sorry to hear any of your fish died like that, and thanks for the warning

i'll put em to soak tomorrow morning, then over the weekend, rinse and if i have time, boil, they're fairly big, so ill cork the sink, boil the water, and throw it in and let them sit til it cools, then next week, i'll do over the tank, and try to get pictures

Once again, thanks alot

 

[cruncher75]

Hi does your black and white rock look like the 1 i had in my tank

 

[Mr. Convict]

Nope.. its darker, has a little more white, and it isnt round, its flatter

Any reason why?

 

[TheScottishRift]

:Looks at number 3 and quickly attends to the tank:

 

[Mr. Convict]

:Looks at number 3 and quickly attends to the tank:

lol

 

[ridewake210]

u do realize that u hafta post pics right?