Rocks

[Gaz111]

Years ago when I had my first tank I just went to a stony beach picked up a load I like then tasted them in vinegar and washed them. Do people still do this? Been reading some of my old books and care for the fish has come on some so didn’t know if people have stopped doing this

 

[Beastije]

Yup people still do this. I just scrub them with a brush under water to be safe.
Or you can also loots someones garden for stones, like I did. Vinegar and scrubbing still applied

 

[AmyKieran]

Years ago when I had my first tank I just went to a stony beach picked up a load I like then tasted them in vinegar and washed them. Do people still do this? Been reading some of my old books and care for the fish has come on some so didn’t know if people have stopped doing this

Yes people still do this, I’ve had a bad experience with rocks that killed half my fish but these weren’t from the beach I bought them off someone. Personally if you wanted rocks from the beach ide do everything to make sure they are absolutely safe first. Boil them, scrub them, leave them out in sun for couple of days aswell as the vinegar test is your best bet

 

[GaryE]

There are some pretty funny attempts by pet stores to convince people random rocks kill, but people do as you did. I have a beach at the end of the road and it's an endless source of aquascaping ideas.
The vinegar trick is okay, but the only wrinkle I've added is to grab a field guide to local rocks and to use the ones that don't add minerals to my soft water.

 

[Uberhoust]

Collecting material for the aquarium is half the fun.

 

[Gaz111]

Well I’ll be walking down the beach on my lunch break tomorrow then!

 

[Back in the fold]

I'm always on the lookout for rocks. I like petrified wood. Granite comes in lots of colors. Anytime I go up in the mountains I sniff around in creek beds .

 

[Gaz111]

I'm always on the lookout for rocks. I like petrified wood. Granite comes in lots of colors. Anytime I go up in the mountains I sniff around in creek beds .

I was too worried about the wood as I wasn’t really sure where and what to use but with rocks I can’t help but think they’ve picked them up on the way to work