RIVER ROCKS Good or Bad?
- Thread starter GTbEaSt
- Start date
As long as you wash any found rocks in hot water to kill parasites that may be present, they won't hurt anything at all. The only other thing to watch out for is reactive mineral rocks that could change the ph of your tank.
I have several really pretty striped river rocks in my big tank. They look great and provide structure and natural boundaries for the fish.
I have several really pretty striped river rocks in my big tank. They look great and provide structure and natural boundaries for the fish.
yeah just be sure to wash them really well, i would use vinegar rather than bleach, achieves the same goal without as much risk to the fish if you dont rinse it thorough enough, i would boil it in hot water then soak it in a water vinegar solution for a day and then rinse really well and place in tank
I'm not making fun of or picking - just an observation.
Its funny how rocks for $3 a pound at the fish store we dont question but rocks from the great outdoors we do. In nature fish are exposed to all kinds of items and they thrive.
I use rocks from the outdoors in my tanks and like the others have said clean/boil them and you will not have problems.
Its funny how rocks for $3 a pound at the fish store we dont question but rocks from the great outdoors we do. In nature fish are exposed to all kinds of items and they thrive.
I use rocks from the outdoors in my tanks and like the others have said clean/boil them and you will not have problems.
make sure that you break off any loose chips from the rock, especially before boiling them, I have learned that junk can actually accumulate in the cracks, only to later fall off after a week in the tank, releasing the junk and the loose rock chips.
Otolith;4680311; said:
Yeah, definitely. That's a good test to see if the rocks are reactive or not. Some of the stones in my tanks do have glittery stuff in them, which in this area is pyrite, or fool's gold. It's in many of the rock around here.
Finding stones for your tanks can be cool, too. The ones I keep in my 90gal were some that I found on a motorcycle trip several years ago and far from home. That makes it fun, because those stones have a story and remind you of how and where you found them every time you look in your tank.
I have this page bookmarked in case I have any questions on what types of rocks I can use that I find- http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aquascaping/rocks.shtml
Very informative writeup as to which rocks contain which minerals and what they do to your tank if anything.
Very informative writeup as to which rocks contain which minerals and what they do to your tank if anything.
DMD123;4680283; said:
Mah nature has dilution on her side.
we don't have that luxury with small bodies of water.. Put a large limestone rock in a 10 gallon and see what happens. The above also heavily depends on ones overall hardness, not PH aside from cleaning for any protozoa etc... There is no yes or no answer to this question, it's about teasting ALL of your water perameters, knowing what they mean and making desicions based around those readings..Use the vinegar to test the rocks as well. If the rocks bubble, fizz or react to it than it is not a rock you want to use. Rule of thumb I use when collecting is to try and find rocks with natural colors. Pretty much every tan or brown rock is safe. And they look nicer.