Using Rocks from the Yard for Rock-Work - Is this Safe?

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labenator65000

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2012
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Midwest
I picked some black River Rock out of my landscaping to use to build some rock-work caves for my Malawi tank. The problem is that these rocks have been exposed to Round-up, grass fertilizer, Weed-B-Gone, insecticide, etc etc every year for the past who knows how many years and as recent as a month or two ago. I'm trying to do what I can to clean them before I add them to the tank. So far I have soaked them overnight in vinegar to check for bubbling, soaked in water overnight, scrubbed them with a baking soda paste and an old toothbrush, and boiled them in water for about 20 minutes, rinsing thoroughly between each step.

Is this sufficient? Do I need to do anything else?


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Should be good, thats more than I'd ever do, I figured a good soaking would almost be sufficient. There's always going to be a risk but I'm sure worse has been done with no ill effects.
 
Dang sounds like all was done. If you have an extra small tank try it in there with a cheap fish if you want to play it safe but!...... if it was me all that you've done would be more then enough.GL
 
fill your sink or bucket and add some bleach let sit overnight and rinse and put in your tank
 
Should work perfectly good job! Take a cheap fish or minow from your lfs and throw him in there with it and see what happens, just remember that poisons can leak out of rocks sometimes in one day sometimes in 1 year.. So :O
 
I think you've probably gotten all the residue off. Since you did the vinegar test and everything checked out there, you should be good to go. I used "field rock" in my 90g and have not had one problem. Also use in my SA cichlid tank as well, again, no problems.
 
yeah i was wondering if the rocks from mu pond would be ok in my cichilds tank? sorry labenator65000
don't mean to steal your thread..
 
Wow lots more than I did lol good scrub with a brush and hot water is about all I ever do, no ill effects so far

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