rocks from anywhere?

[panboy]

can i take rocks from anywhere? i live in arizona, and want to pick up some rocks for my tank from outside in the middle of no where.
is it safe? will it affect my water?

 

[Dwarfs]

Yes but boil them and make sure they don't erode in the water. (that means disintegrade after some time for you unedumacated folks) J/K

 

[tstenback]

Also use the vinegar test on the rocks. if it fizzes dont use it in your tank it will cause PH problems.

 

[modernhamlet]

In addition to dwarfs' suggestion, put a couple of drops of vinegar on the rock. If it bubbles, it won't do for most freshwater tanks, as it will raise the pH and kH over time.

Edit: ya JUST beat me to it, tstenback!

 

[vantgE]

I did a mbuna african cichlid tank they vinegar test will not aply to fish for rift lake tanks, because a higher kh and ph is desireable and if you have to many big rocks to boil like me you can bleach them the bleach should be left to dry for at least one day, I also poured boiling water on my rocks but the main part of the cleaning was the scrubbiong and the bleaching also so them as much as you can to get off anything on the outsides that could leach into your water

 

[Ron9]

Since my entire neighborhood (esp. my house) is built on rock (ask the poor guy that had to did my footing) I figured I had it made.

Well much of the rock was too soft - too bad - natural rock EVERYWHERE but ........ no way to really get it clean enough.

So I went to plan B.

Plan B was picking up the round river rock right out of my drive/walk way. Since I have tons of it (in all colors) I picked nothing but black roundish rocks.

My three tanks have a layer of the small multi colored natural gravel and designs made from a good deal of the black river rock. That rock is solid enough not to leach off whatever.

Later while at WallyWorld I grinned when I saw little bags of river rock for $1.92 with about a dozen rocks in the bags. Heck they should have had it brought over in dump trucks like I did 18 years ago lol.

You will want to make sure - nothing ever leaches out of the rock (no soft/pores rock) and even with these solid rocks I boiled the stuffings out of them.

 

[fishdudein]

Wouldn't ya love to have been the person that came up with the idea of selling rocks ? People thought the idea of pet rocks in the 70s was nuts, but they sure sold a ton of 'em!! I hate spending good money on rocks, and love the opportunity to get outdoors once in a while to rock hunt. Good advice in this thread, be careful what you bring home and put in your tank, make sure it's clean and won't foul your water and you'll be OK (and your wallet will be that much heavier)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi panboy

If you hadn't mentioned that you live in Arizona I would probably passed this thread by.

I know that you might find lava rock and sandstone in the desert in your state, and while they might look great, this is not the kind of rock most people are thinking of.
I think someone's going to have to help me with the specifics, but you know what I mean--hard solid rocks.

I wonder how that beautiful red sandstone would be in an aquarium. Would it have minerals that would effect the water?

Well, perhaps now that I've raised the question, someone will be able to answer it.



_____
Big help I am, huh? )

 

[fishdudein]

Inchworm, sandstone that I have used from here in IN did not appear to affect my water in any way (this is just an observation, I did not do any water tests). Problem that I had with sandstone is all the little nooks and crannies are great for detritus buildup and algae growth, so eventually becomes unsightly. This was not the red sandstone from AZ (gorgeous stuff) but I'm afraid results would be the same.....

 

[Ron9]

We also may want to consider the abrasiveness of some types of rock - some rock is very abrasive. I don’t know about anyone else but when one of the Rosy Barbs is only 3/16th of an inch ahead of the Rainbow Shark and they are both going a zillion miles per hour (and turning on a dime with 9 cents change) I would hate to see them smack an abrasive rock.

So do saltwater fish that live around coral have band aids all over them?