limestone.. just rinse/clean and insert?

[Swifterz]

i just upgraded from a 50 to a 75 gallon tank a couple days ago, and unfortunately i have almost no decor. i have 7 large stones but it's not nearly enough.

there is literally an endless supply of limestone all around my house. can i just thoroughly rinse and clean these rocks and use them in my tank? i know limestone is also good for ph which is a plus since it's a cichlid tank.

 

[Swifterz]

it looks like this FYI

 

[jack36547]

I normally give them a good scrubbing with an scrub pad, boil some water and pour it over the rocks. I've never had any problems at all with them. Remember, boiling rocks is a no no.

 

[joejeff]

i have done this before... if you found these comewhere you may want to consider a mild bleach solution and then 24 hours dry time to gas off bleach... didn't do this to mine, i simply rinsed and put in tank...

 

[Swifterz]

here's some i've collected

they are very heavy, but i used eggcrate on the bottom of my tank. i really would like to do this as they are nice and it saves me a lof of $.

 

[joejeff]

Wats tank size? You using th

 

[joejeff]

You using these instead of gravel or as a reef?

 

[joejeff]

I say go for it man. I use limestone to make.my caves and reefs. Here in fl its easy to find lol.

 

[Swifterz]

i have a cichlid tank. all fish are 5-8" adult males. for substrate i'm using pool filter sand. i have 2 syndontins cats and a giant pleco that keep everything really clean. tank is 75 gallons.

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

If it came from a dry area, I would think that scrubbing with water would be good enough. You could scrub it with potent saltwater if you're worried. I don't like using chemicals on things that go into my tank, and unless you have a reason to suspect contamination, there's really no need for it. I introduce 'wild' rocks to my fish all the time and I've never had any issues.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Limestone isn't going to do much to your pH here anyways. Tap pH is 7.8 and we're on the same water supply. Limestone only buffers to about 7.8 or so. Just rinse it off good, scrub any visible dirt/debris, and toss it in.

 

[Swifterz]

Limestone isn't going to do much to your pH here anyways. Tap pH is 7.8 and we're on the same water supply. Limestone only buffers to about 7.8 or so. Just rinse it off good, scrub any visible dirt/debris, and toss it in.

i ended up going to the quarry here downtown and got 81 pounds of granite stones for less than $20.