Rock help

[Bichir Bro]

Ok guys so I was looking in my yard and found some awesome rocks that would look amazing in my tank. I want to know how I can clean them and make them fish friendly. Now at my house we don't use pesticides or fertilizer around that little rock garden but we do use ant poison, which I guess is a pesticide but we don't use them often. So anyone know how to make em fish safe?

 

[BBradbury]

Local Rocks in the Tank

Ok guys so I was looking in my yard and found some awesome rocks that would look amazing in my tank. I want to know how I can clean them and make them fish friendly. Now at my house we don't use pesticides or fertilizer around that little rock garden but we do use ant poison, which I guess is a pesticide but we don't use them often. So anyone know how to make em fish safe?

Hello Bro...

Some types of rock can affect the water chemistry, so drop a little vinegar on them. If there's a reaction of any kind, then you don't want to use them. If not, then scrub them with a brush and rinse well in a bucket of your treated replacement water and they'll be tank ready. Takes just a few minutes.

B

 

[Bichir Bro]

Hm ok cool I'll do that! Thanks

 

[butterfly_koi]

Rocks such as limestone can contain CaCO3 which can cause the Ph in the water to rise, CaCO3 is an alkali compound which acts as a neutralizer to the acid (vinegar), when an acid is poured on the rock the calcium carbonate neutralizes the acid therefore making it bubble.
Just because a rock bubbles doesn't mean it's harmful to the tank, it's just letting you know that the rock contains calcium and this also doesn't always mean that it'll affect the PH. If it does happen to raise the PH, it'll be just a slight amount and won't negatively effect the tank.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Ok soooooo how do I know if it's safe

 

[wildroseofky]

Do the acid test. Scratch rock, pour vinegar on it, see if it foams. If it foams it will raise the PH but this can be a good thing if your PH runs low. If not, do not use. If rocks doesn't fizz, soak in water for a week, changing water every day. Then scrub rock unter running water. It should be okay then. Just keep an eye on your fish. If they start to act funny, remove rock. You can post a pic and we might be able to tell you what it is.

 

[Bichir Bro]

First ones quarts and I have no clue about the second.

 

[gobbledygook]

Pretty much all my rocks are from my yard or hiking trips. If you find lichens or growth on the rocks soak them in bleach (yes, that's chlorine) for a couple of days. Then rinse with clean water a few times, scrub with a brush to remove the dead growth, and boil them. By boil I mean make sure there's enough water in the pot to cover even after some water boils off and keep it at a rolling boil for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you're worried or still smell chlorine then rinse well and boil in fresh water again. I usually let them sit out till they're completely dry and maybe even scrub again if the boiling loosened any additional surface junk.

That may be overkill, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Never killed a fish with rocks cleaned that way yet. And my son gets a kick out of making stone soup.

 

[Abiduwhabi]

A little off topic, but when it comes to boiling rocks, what's the possibility of it blowing up? I only ask because I've read some horror stories about it, I've always just washed and soaked my rocks for a week or so. Never had any trouble out of them.