Slate, driftwood, etc.

[Tempestuousfury]

I have three gaudy caves in my other tanks and it is aesthetically pleasing (for me or the fish). I'm trying to stay away from ornaments that one wouldn't find in the wild... I went to Petsmart and asked if they had slate, and they told me to go to Home Depot or Menards to get it. I'm not sure if their slate'd work in an aquarium... I want to add this stuff for protection for fry and hiding places for corys. What would be the cheapest and/or best to get, and from where?

 

[Mamaschild]

Hi tempestuousfury.

I got all my lava rock and other "stuff" from a landscape supply store. VERY CHEAP compared to Home Depot or LFS (100 lbs of lava rock for $14).

They carry all kind of things that can go into a fish tank, and some of them even help out the aquarists that come in, because they are so used to it.

HTH

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You can get it at the fish stores for a ton of money.

I get all of my rock (and being into African cichlids for a long time I've bought a lot) from a from a rock cutter and supplier that sells to landscape companies. They also happen to be a fish store supplier. On average the price is nearly 10 percent of what the LFS charges!! I stocked this 90 gallon tank full of rock for 11$. They have many types of rock including slate.

 

[Lateral Line]

I got my slate from a builders merchants - asked them if they had any broken roofing slates they wanted rid of, gave them to me. Watch out for sharp edges on slates - file them off.

 

[guppymonkey]

Don't you have to test the rocks to make sure its just slate and not something that will leach nasty stuff into the water? I would be a little cautious because I don't want to hurt the fish.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Thecichiladdict's tank it beautiful! Mine looks horrible in comparison. My public library has a tank that's similar, but it is a marine tank. The store that is maintaining the tank is primarily for marine tanks, but should I try there anyways?
How would I contact a landscaping store? If I were to look it up in a phone book, how would I tell the difference b/w a store and a place that does landscaping?

 

[fishgeek]

Depends on what water parameters yu want
if you are into hard water fish not much of a prob
if soft water fish , take along some vinegar , scratch the rock and pour the vinegar on the fresh surface if it fizz's then it's no good for soft water tanks as it will leach calcium hardness etc into the tank and constantly harden your soft water, bit counter productive there

otherwise anything from unknown source just needs to be clean
put in a bucket and give a 5% chlorine dip , or bil wash
make sure you rinse away any chlorine after , and use double amount of dechlrinator in a final soak bucket to be safe before adding to fish tank

andrew