Slate

[That Fish kid]

So I recently found a few pieces of slate at my local park.(Don't worry, it wasn't being used)Would it be okay to rinse it and use it in my tank? It's a 20 gallon long, heavily planted with large pieces of driftwood.

 

[Fresh2o]

Slate should be fine. You may want to scrub it down with a brush and hot water. I like using salt as an abrasive. Rinse it well before putting it in the tank.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

In my 60g, I have that nice big slate structure, and I just got a really rough sponge and rinsed the heck out of it and just cleaned each piece off and when I built the whole structure it looked nice and clean

 

[That Fish kid]

So I'll do that and just put it in?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Yep! boiling it and cleaning it with white vinegar will help lots too.

 

[DavidAl]

You may want to first put it into a bucket with new water to see if it alters your water chemistry. Test the water's pH and GH before putting the slate in, then test it everyday at the same time for about a one week period. In addition, do the same with another bucket of water, but without any slate in it. The latter will tell you if the water chemistry changes on its own or if the slate is doing it, and if so, by how much, and obviously whether it is safe for the fish tank or not. Keep a log of the results and compare them side-by-side.

David