Can You Put Rocks From A River In Yr Tank If U Clean?

[D4N]

i want to make a cave for my tank and i want to make it out of rocks from the river next to my house

 

[Ginge]

Yes you can i think.

 

[dylema]

It should be ok but it is a good idea to boil them first so that any bacteria that might be living on the rocks die.

ps Nice escort. I have always wanted a mark 1. I had a 1980 Mk2 1600 as my first car which was great but not as cool as the older ones.

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Well when I put rocks from a river or the ocean in my tank I put boiling water in a bucket along with the rocks. I put new boiling water every day for a week because it cools from day to day. This should make them clean and bacteria free. You save a lot of money and your tank looks more natural. 8)

 

[SkiFletch]

In addition to boiling them, I'd advocate putting them in your toilet cistern to help wash away chemicals and pollutants over time

 

[anvil63]

I'd say go ahead after boiling assuming you take the normal rock precautions.

1. Does not contain CaCO3 - preferably test with muratic acid (HCl) or vinegar (if you can't get a hold of stronger acid - can take a really long time with vinegar)

2. Rock does not have an odd color, odd colored streaks, or weighs more then you think it should. All of these can indicate a high metallic composition of the rock that can poison your fish.

3. Obviously, not sharp and jagged so your fish aren't injured.

Carl

 

[TheDood326]

I live righ tnext to a stream to and i just washed washed the rocks off with dishwasher soap and a nice scrubber and they were good to go (probally shoulda done more)
and i still have them in my tank and no fish have died

good luck

 

[drobbyb]

When I put rocks into my tank (even from a LFS) I boil them and bleach them. Chlorine bleach plus a scrub pad to loosen and destroy any organic material and boiling to kill any remaining organisms. Maybe I am a bit paranoid but it has worked for me for the past 16 years.

 

[Corleone]

This is an old thread, but it was something that got asked recently.

I'd avoid soap, personally. I'm also paranoid, and don't want residues anywhere near my fish. I boil and scrub with chlorine bleach, then rinse it in clean water with a super dose of dechlorinator, and leave it to soak in that for a couple days.

If you boil rocks, don't let the water boil away, and let them cool down in the water you boil them in (this may take a long time - for some of my big rocks it took a few days before they were cool to the touch). Stories of rocks exploding when boiled are exaggerated but not entirely impossible, particularly if you remove them from hot water and then put them in cold water.

 

[Madhousedavy]

ok so could i get some of the rocks from my garden(the smooth ones) and put them in a bucket and pour boiled water from the kettle in there( just hope it doesnt mellt the bucket or should i put it in a big sauspan and pour the boiled water in) then what do i do or how many times do i do this before they can go in.
what was that test with the vinegar how does it work and how do i do it

 

[dthoffsett]

ok so could i get some of the rocks from my garden(the smooth ones) and put them in a bucket and pour boiled water from the kettle in there( just hope it doesnt mellt the bucket or should i put it in a big sauspan and pour the boiled water in) then what do i do or how many times do i do this before they can go in.
what was that test with the vinegar how does it work and how do i do it

If it's a heavy duty bucket boiling water shouldn't melt it, and you'll only need to do it once. Just be sure to allow the rocks to cool before you handle them as they'll retain heat. The vinegar test is used to detect levels of calcium in rocks that can raise your PH and hardness. All you do is pour a small amount on a dry rock and if it fizzes, then there is calcium present. If you are keeping hard water species it won't be a problem and is considered desirable to keep your high PH stable, if you are keeping most "standard" community fish or softcwater species then don't add any rocks that fizz.

 

[Declan]

Hi,

I was thinking of doing this about 2 months ago! However I wasnt a member of this wonderful (yet slow) forum at the time so I didnt..

Could someone just specify exactly what to do, because the brook at the bottom of my garden is brimming with 'wondeful' rocks!

I also see crayfish in there from time to time..Can only be good?

Thanks, D.

 

[dthoffsett]

Hi,

I was thinking of doing this about 2 months ago! However I wasnt a member of this wonderful (yet slow) forum at the time so I didnt..

Could someone just specify exactly what to do, because the brook at the bottom of my garden is brimming with 'wondeful' rocks!

I also see crayfish in there from time to time..Can only be good?

Thanks, D.

It's pretty simple, pick out the rocks you like and do the following.

I'd avoid soap, personally. I'm also paranoid, and don't want residues anywhere near my fish. I boil and scrub with chlorine bleach, then rinse it in clean water with a super dose of dechlorinator, and leave it to soak in that for a couple days.

If you boil rocks, don't let the water boil away, and let them cool down in the water you boil them in (this may take a long time - for some of my big rocks it took a few days before they were cool to the touch). Stories of rocks exploding when boiled are exaggerated but not entirely impossible, particularly if you remove them from hot water and then put them in cold water.

If it's a heavy duty bucket boiling water shouldn't melt it, and you'll only need to do it once. Just be sure to allow the rocks to cool before you handle them as they'll retain heat. The vinegar test is used to detect levels of calcium in rocks that can raise your PH and hardness. All you do is pour a small amount on a dry rock and if it fizzes, then there is calcium present. If you are keeping hard water species it won't be a problem and is considered desirable to keep your high PH stable, if you are keeping most "standard" community fish or softcwater species then don't add any rocks that fizz.

 

[Declan]

Hi,

I was thinking of doing this about 2 months ago! However I wasnt a member of this wonderful (yet slow) forum at the time so I didnt..

Could someone just specify exactly what to do, because the brook at the bottom of my garden is brimming with 'wondeful' rocks!

I also see crayfish in there from time to time..Can only be good?

Thanks, D.

It's pretty simple, pick out the rocks you like and do the following.

I'd avoid soap, personally. I'm also paranoid, and don't want residues anywhere near my fish. I boil and scrub with chlorine bleach, then rinse it in clean water with a super dose of dechlorinator, and leave it to soak in that for a couple days.

If you boil rocks, don't let the water boil away, and let them cool down in the water you boil them in (this may take a long time - for some of my big rocks it took a few days before they were cool to the touch). Stories of rocks exploding when boiled are exaggerated but not entirely impossible, particularly if you remove them from hot water and then put them in cold water.

If it's a heavy duty bucket boiling water shouldn't melt it, and you'll only need to do it once. Just be sure to allow the rocks to cool before you handle them as they'll retain heat. The vinegar test is used to detect levels of calcium in rocks that can raise your PH and hardness. All you do is pour a small amount on a dry rock and if it fizzes, then there is calcium present. If you are keeping hard water species it won't be a problem and is considered desirable to keep your high PH stable, if you are keeping most "standard" community fish or softcwater species then don't add any rocks that fizz.

Thanks for that, I wasnt sure whether that was all of it

Well, I have just been and collected some rocks and I am cleaning them as we speak (laptops are wonderful) and I was wondering, do I need to make them PRISTINE or should I leave some algea on them?

Or will they just ruin my tank?

Thanks, D.

 

[Madhousedavy]

thanks for your help