Ideas for slate, aquarium rock for cheap

[Andos99]

Hey there! I'm going to be starting a new 90 gallon malawi tank and I'm looking for rock, specificly slate to decorate with. Retail pricing is a total rip so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas where to get it for free or discounted. Send your suggestions!! Thanks everyone.

 

[Luke]

My soil here is clay. If it were me i'd look into getting a dye for it shaping it the way i wanted, and bake it. Don't know if that's an option for you or not though. It would'nt be real but i think it would serve its purpose, no?

 

[Lowryder]

Come to where I live, in the "slate belt". You can go into mining towns and see old abandoned piles of slate, tons. Know this doesnt help you much but just remember if you are ever in north east PA.

 

[mfdrookie516]

well most landscaping places sell rock alot cheaper than lfs. i've heard of people going to stone companies that fabricate counter tops, marble, stuff like that and getting pieces of slate from there. I got all my rock from a creek (well, actually somebody on here got it from their creek and gave it to me). i'd say i have about 200lbs or so in my 150g and its still not enough, about 1/3 of what i need. You really wont have to worry about rock raising ph since a higher ph is great for mbuna. Just be careful not to get any from gardens or anywhere where pesticides/herbicides could have been used.

 

[Aquarium1]

well most landscaping places sell rock alot cheaper than lfs. i've heard of people going to stone companies that fabricate counter tops, marble, stuff like that and getting pieces of slate from there. I got all my rock from a creek (well, actually somebody on here got it from their creek and gave it to me). i'd say i have about 200lbs or so in my 150g and its still not enough, about 1/3 of what i need. You really wont have to worry about rock raising ph since a higher ph is great for mbuna. Just be careful not to get any from gardens or anywhere where pesticides/herbicides could have been used.

+1 and that somebody would be me lol. Make sure you also wash the rock, boil it if you can, as thoroughly as possible.

 

[ampa one]

found mine at landscaping store .cut off end pices and broken at a low cost

 

[7Enigma]

Do NOT boil rock! Soak it in water for a couple days to see if you have any problems with leeching and then drop it in a bucket of hydrogen peroxide. That will kill anything that could contaminate your tank (depending on where you got it).

Boiling rock, especially river rock, is a recipe for disaster as the rock can explode sending shrapnel all over the place. Much safer to use a chemical such as peroxide.

 

[Phazeshyft]

I got mine at home depot. In the garden section they have all sorts of stepping stones and I found the broken ones and got them to cut like 40% off. didn't tell them I WANTED them broken.

 

[jsoong]

Pond or Landscaping supply usually have slate for fair price. Also at HD & other chain stores, may have broken slate tiles for cheap.

Free - just go to your local river & start hunting. Generally, it is best to rock hunt in remote wilderness upstream from civilization & farms so you don't risk contamination. I pick my rocks from the Rocky Mountains when I go hiking in the summer, although there are slate outcrop at the North Sask River here in town (Edmonton).