Got a free rock, but has a reddish dye on it....

[benlink3]

Hello all, this is my first topic here. I got this brilliantly colored rock from a friend. The rock is of a reddish to marooned color, from dye. I let the rock sit over night in my basement sink, and the water was the color of the rock in the morning. I was wondering what I could use to remove the color from the rock, or if I would be able to use the rock in a community tank (Im pretty darn sure I can't)? Is anybody here familiar with this subject? Thank you, Ben. braszeja@excite.com

 

[madasafish]

Welcome to AA, benlink3!

Really don't think so... Wouldn't advise it. ('Course, you new you were going to get that answer.) What's so great about the rock, anyway? IME, things that turn the water their color tend to continue to do so for a long time. E.G. Fluorite Red fertilized gravel!!!

Perhaps JustDIY will have an idea (he's good with home projects), but I can only suggest a) not using the rock--best idea and b) using some sort of paint remover to get the rock's color off. At which point, you'd have to wait for a long time before putting the rock in the tank because of the chemicals.

Any chance you could post a pic for us to see? Perhaps we'd have a better idea of what the die has done to it...

 

[Terry]

I wouldn't use it.
You must check to see what the rock is actually leaching out. just because a rock is pretty it does'nt mean it not toxic.
It might be fine, but i would investigate more before useing it. Like madasafish said ask JustDIY maybe he could help.

 

[shawmutt]

I agree with what everyone said, don't use it. If you want rocks, check your local plant nursery, and see if the split pallets of rocks. I had to check a few, but the place I did find sold as many as I could fit into a bucket for $25 bucks. Here's what they look like inside the tank (it's a 30 gallon):

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/download.php?id=2025

Of course you could always go to a local stream or river and get another free rock--just make sure you soak it in a very weak bleach solution and then soak it in water with declorinator afterwards, and scrub it.

HTH

 

[Terry]

Shawmutt,
Tank looks great. what fish are going in it or are in it.

 

[shawmutt]

There's 5 (maybe 4, I haven't seen all five together in a few days) yellow labs in there. The best part was that I arranged caves so each cichlid has his own area, but they found a lot more, and one dug a hole under one of my rocks to make his own cave! (don't worry, The rocks were all arranged on eggcrate before the sand was put in, it's super stable) The downside of all this is that the spend most of their time hiding from me . This seems to be a recurring issue, I think I'm going to post about it.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Even if you could soak the rock for awhile and it stops turning the water red, It would probably no longer be a "brilliantly colored rock"