Rocks

[excotec]

I am in the process of gathering items for my new 45 tank. I am learning that things are very expensive here in Germany. I live next to a river that is fed by the Zugspitz Glacier so I am fairly sure that the water is clear of pollutants. Can I use rocks I gather from there? Is there a way to know if they are safe for use?

Thanks,
Excotec

 

[William]

Well, its always better safe than sorry, however if you are sure this water is pollutant free if you take some precautions you should be ok.

First off if you boil the rocks in a bucket of water, do this a couple of times and give them a good scrub, this will get rid of any external nasty parasites/dirt etc.

Then use vinegar and pour it over the rocks. If the rocks fizz then chuck them as they have limestone which will overtime leach into and pollute your tank. If there is no reaction then they should be safe to put in your tank.

 

[excotec]

Well I tried out some rocks and I think they will not work. It did not fizz up like alkaseltzer but did have a couple of bubbles come out of it. What about plastic or artificial rocks. I had a set in my old tank that I had gotten from wal-mart and they looked quite real. Does anybody know a source for these. I have searched the net but not having much luck. Rocks here in my area are expensive and it would cost alot to have them mailed from the states to germany so that is where my thinking of plastic comes in.


Excotec

 

[scooter]

i think rocks are expencive every where....i have been looking for rocks for my 100gallon tank and the cheapest i seen was 1.99$ per lbs for lava rock...but i went to the local hardware store and bought white silica sand for 5$ for 50 lbs i had to wash it but for the saving it was well worth the effort...i still havent did much more cuase of the expence...hope this helps

 

[aquamaniac2003]

You can do a search on the internet for making aquarium rocks, but it sound too awkward for my likeing. Also I think the rocks you make may leech in to the tank changing the water hardness.
I gave up looking for rocks and bought loads of plastic house plant from Hobby Lobby and Micheals craft stores - works well and lots of style to choose from.
When I get round to photographing my tank I will post it in the photo section.

Good luck!

 

[guppygirl]

There's a wal-mart in GERMANY? thought that was american only....

 

[Kirstie]

I have a question! Will sand work just as well as gravel in a freshwater tropical tank? How do the prices compare?

 

[semper fi]

sand is not a good idea since it can clog the filters. with the cichlids who are notorious diggers they are always shifting the sand and decor for that matter to their liking. some fsh do require sand so as not to hurt fragile noses and some are not suitable for sand. depends on the type of fish.

maggie

 

[whacky]

I have found that a cheaper place to fet rocks from is a builders yard or garden center you would still need to take the same precautions ie boil and test for lime, but builders merchants dont generally do anything to rocks in the way of chemicals etc

 

[aquamaniac2003]

I tried sand once..... never again.

It kept getting large areas og algae growth. The more I tried to get rid of it...the more it spread.

IMO stick to good old gravel. There are many colors available now.

 

[angelphish]

William, what is wrong with limestone. Where I use to live, it was pretty much the only kind of rock around. I've used rocks from my yard and from creek beds for years and have never had a problem. I boil first and though they let off some bubbles, the bubbling soon stops. I have never had any rocks deteriorate.

 

[Great Lakes]

Limestone in a tropical with the lower more acidic ph will leach calcium into your tank, making it way to hard for tropical species.

 

[angelphish]

I sometimes forget that there are other fish species out there.

The limestone is fine for the africans that I keep

 

[DUECE69]

WALMART IS TAKING OVER

 

[elgecko]

Be very careful with your rocks. When I set my tank up over 2 years ago, I found some rocks that I like outside. I boiled them and did the vinegar test on them. They passed the test. I monitored the tank, everything was ok. The ph was not changing, hardness, etc,etc. The stone was releasing something into the fish tank. I was killing, believes this or not, Zebras. And like I said all the tests of my water said that nothing was wrong. I then removed those rock and have not had a problem since.