homemade rocks

[stp8809]

Does any one know of a good material to make homemade rocks? I don't want to pay the price that my lfs chages for a shape that I don't like.

 

[Great Lakes]

Find a hobby shop that has pottery classes and make your own that way. Most pottery classes are inexpensive for the actual pottery part. It is the paints where they make the money.

 

[tdins_2]

why make them go outside find a rock u like and boil it the slam her in

 

[Rivermud76]

You could also use styrofoam and cut the piece to the shape you like then heat it to make the final form, then cover it with a fine grain cement o other type of plastering material if you want a smoother edge and paint.

You could also just go to a Stone yard, "landscaping stones" and select the rocks you like and pay less than 40cents per lb depending on what type of rock it is. I bought all of the rock i use in my tanks from a place like that and grant total for all of it was less than 10 bucks.

 

[Yenko]

Go searching by a rocky river, lake or beach. There will be plenty of rocks there for you.

 

[Max]

Go searching by a rocky river, lake or beach.

beach!!! are u crazzy!!!! in a fresh water tank i think that would be very unsafe!!!

 

[StanTheBetta]

Go searching by a rocky river, lake or beach.

beach!!! are u crazzy!!!! in a fresh water tank i think that would be very unsafe!!!

I'd think it'd be alright if you rinse it. Salt isn't going to kill them unless they're scaleless fish I don't think.

 

[drobbins27]

Ive tried to research this topic but havent had much luck. In myopinon, boiling the rock is all you need to do, any rock off a beach would be fine. It may add some salt but only in small amounts, and it wont kill ur fish, unless they are scaleless

 

[Yenko]

I boil my ocean rocks, and then let them sit for a few days in water. That should remove most of the salt. The tank was already established when I got my loaches, and the rock had been in an aquarium for months already.

 

[flyhockey1037]

chances are even if you have scaleless fish and there is salt it will not kill them, it may not even bother them very much.

 

[pete28]

i have 4 large conch shells in my tank that i boiled for 30 minutes and my cichlids absolutlely love them

 

[JeremyD]

aragocrete (aragonite and concrete) works great. It will raise your PH though, so make sure you anticipate for that.



http/www.garf.org/LEONELS/rock.html

 

[northampton_matt]

Is there an alternative to boiling?? I am planning on placing a slate shelf into my coldwater tank so I can keep newts in there too. What do people do with larger pieces of rock??

Matt

 

[FishDan]

beach!!! are u crazzy!!!! in a fresh water tank i think that would be very unsafe!!!

There are probably more beaches that are inland, and therefor freshwater. In any event, boiling the rocks would take care of the problem anyhow.

If you get the slate from a LFS rinsing should be fine. You could also powerwash the slate with hot water. Baking (at low temps for a longer time) is another alternative. Don't bake for too long at high temps, as many rocks can explode and that would be uncool in your oven. You could also wash them in a mild bleach solution, then rinse several times with dechlor water and let sun dry and then rinse some more. Once you are sure there is no longer any trace of bleach on the rocks, rinse them again.

\Dan