Rocks from outside for daffodil cichlids?

[Hybridfish7]

Today is a good day, got my first ever tank of African cichlids
It's a small group of 5 juvenile daffodils
I don't really have much decor in there, and I was wondering if it'd be safe to pull in some rocks from outside for these guys.
I only plan on keeping two once they pair off.

 

[deeda]

Outside rocks should be fine as long as they weren't exposed to pesticides, fertilizers or other types of contaminants.

 

[kno4te]

Place some vinegar on the rocks. If it fizzes then those rocks can increase ur ph and Gh but since u have African cichlids it’s not a big problem. Since they require higher ph’s. But I’m not a expert on those cichlids. Ask duanes and Gourami Swami for their opinions.

 

[james99]

As mentioned, as long as they haven't come in contact with any poisons you should be ok. My old rocks can from under a bridge at a local river, I kept them until I changed to universal rocks to match my 3d background.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I usually use rocks from outside that I find in my tanks, better than paying a bunch of money for rocks. Just have to scrub them good, and I try to pick rocks which look simple, grey, inert, like slate. Not too many metallic looking flecks. This might just be my superstition. Some rocks will alter pH and possibly gh, if you have a lot of that kind of rock in the tank. Limestone is an example. For daffodils, high pH is what you want anyway, like kno4te mentioned.
these rocks were all from the yard

 

[Hybridfish7]

Just found out home depot has chunks of granite, would these granite cobble stones work? I guess they'd be easier to stack in order to make crevices for the fish and all

MSI Belgium Block Gray 4 in. x 8 in. Granite Cobbles (0.22 sq. ft./Piece) LHDCOBGBELBLO48 - The Home Depot

The 4 in. x 8 in. Granite Belgium Block Paver has the characteristic grey color and textured appearance of natural stone. It is uniformly sized and offers many design possibilities to enhance your yard

www.homedepot.com

 

[kno4te]

Granite is safe for aquarium use and shouldn’t affect ur tank parameters.

 

[Hybridfish7]

alright then, thanks everyone for the help

 

[Reiner]

Just found out home depot has chunks of granite, would these granite cobble stones work? I guess they'd be easier to stack in order to make crevices for the fish and all

MSI Belgium Block Gray 4 in. x 8 in. Granite Cobbles (0.22 sq. ft./Piece) LHDCOBGBELBLO48 - The Home Depot

The 4 in. x 8 in. Granite Belgium Block Paver has the characteristic grey color and textured appearance of natural stone. It is uniformly sized and offers many design possibilities to enhance your yard

www.homedepot.com

Don't do those paver rocks. Looks very unnatural but that's of course personal preference. Just stack natural rocks. Put a few bigger ones on the bottom and place smaller on top. Make sure the bottom rocks are all the way to the bottom of the tank and not just on top of the gravel and sand. Cichlids will dig and could destabilize them.

 

[Zanzag]

Pavers could work in like a theme tank if you wanted the scene displayed to be a wall or something temple ruin-ey