Can U Use Garden Found Stones

[007_gaz]

u know stones in the garden can u use them in aquarium to make cave? as long as wash them a bit in warm water it should be ok to use? i notice many like to use slate for cichlid caves. i can never find an ordiment big enough for my oscar but garden stones i saw could make a great cave oscar would love to explore. cheers.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes you can, as long as they don't have any metallic veins running through them.

Some of them might dissolve and increase your water's hardness and pH though. If you want to test them first (always a good idea) you can either drop some rust remover (people often say vinegar, but that's not really a strong enough acid) on them and see if they fizz, or you can leave out two buckets of water; one plain and one with the rocks in, and test after a day or two to see of the pH has altered at all.

 

[sougent]

I have done so after boiling the rocks for 5 - 10 minutes to kill any organisms/microbes that may be present.

 

[007_gaz]

i see where people its ok only if leave in warm water for ober 1hour to get rid of any parasite threats. i might give it a try. thanks.

 

[fluttermoth]

It's really not a good idea to boil rocks. If they have any air pockets in them, they could explode!

Leave them to dry out completely, then pour boiling water over them, leave them to soak, and they're ready to use.

 

[Chad]

Yes you can, as long as they don't have any metallic veins running through them.

This and you also want to make sure they aren't calcium based rock as that can alter water chemistry. There is a test where you pour vinegar on the rock and if it does fizz then it's got calcium in it. I have heard this doesn't work for all calcium based rock though but since I'm not a geologist I can't say for sure.

That said I've used many stones from local stream beds and after preparing them as talked about above used them without incident.

 

[007_gaz]

hi can i just check with this alter ph thing, is it true only effects fish like neon tetras that are very sensitive. if the garden found stones did adjust water chemistry would that bother my blood parrott and oscar? i like to think the oscar is very hardy.

 

[yfaris67]

i always use cool stones i find from the construction site near by, its better than buying! just boil them fir 10 min. oh and dont use sand stone, they tend to dessolve.

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Pfft my 20 gallon long every rock you see inside I boiled then waited to cool and put inside my aquarium. So if you ever go to a lake and see a pretty rock you want? Grab it make sure to boil it a little while to kill the bacteria off then set it up

 

[MBOU]

Its still not advisable to boil rocks, if you wish to take that risk, that is absolutely fine but be very cautious about advising other people to boil rocks too because you dont know what sort of rocks they have. You got lucky as your rocks didnt have air trapped in them but thats not to say other peoples local rocks dont.

 

[Chad]

I wonder if freezing the rock would have the same result as boiling with less potential danger? I know freezing rocks can split, but they don't explode with the force that heat can create. Just a thought.

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Hope you the best of luck with purifying the rocks and just remember nobody can force you to do anything they suggest, and there just suggestions.

 

[yfaris67]

by the way Resident Looney, i have a solution for airpockets in rockes, leave the rockes in water for a week and all the air trapped inside them will escape! if you use rocks from a lake, there is no need to.

 

[Chad]

That's assuming the rock is porous. Many air pockets in rocks were actually created eons ago, especially igneous rock.