oh my god, i made a terrible mistake! :o

[kevin007]

okay i'v made a terrible mistake when i added the pond rocks that i added to my tank! i washed them well and stuff but i forgot to, uh put vineger on it to see if it sizzles! but i'v had the tank for over or almost 2 months now(can't remember) does it mean that it's alright? i got the pond rock at the homedepot, i heard that they were the only shop that sold pond rocks for aquariums but i heard that if there's lime in it then i'm dead! and so will be the fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin

 

[Feline]

Hey I didn't know I hav to test the rocks b4 putting them in?!

I used to collect rocks from like the riverbanks etc and now that I have a tank, I put those rocks in, including slates, quartz, volcanic rocks and gemstones!

If everything regarding the water chemistry (eg ph, gh etc) is k, then I dun think there's any problems with the rocks esp. if it's already 2 months.

 

[kevin007]

as long as u don't have any lime then u'll be fine but the problem with me it's that i havn't tested the pond rocks yet and they're all assorted colors so that it would look natural for my tank but i do not know if there's any lime in it!

Kevin

 

[Tanked]

kevin,

why don't you pull the rocks out, dry them off and pour vinegar on them? then you would know. if they sizzle don't put them back in and do a 25 % water change. if they don't sizzle, put them back in and enjoy

 

[kevin007]

yea but do i have to do a cycle again?

 

[Tanked]

are these your decoration rocks or your substrate? if it the decorations than it will not be a problem. if it is the substrate then your tank may have a mini cycle. what type of filtration do you have. if it is a power filter that is cycled then the bounce back time will be must shorter.

 

[kevin007]

okay, yes it's my substrate and yes it is a power filter that is cycled, so how long will it take for the mini cycle?

 

[playfulalliecat]

Kevin,

When we changed our substrate from gravel to sand, using the same decorations and power filter sponges, we had no problems at all. I would think if you keep the same sponges that have bacteria in them and like we did save as much of the water as you can then you should be ok. I would try to save about half the water in the process. We had no bacteria bloom or anything other than waiting for the water to clear up from the sand! Good luck!

Allie


P.S. Maybe you could take a nice sampling of the rocks and test them?? Just a thought!

 

[Tanked]

probably less than a week. but odds are it is ok. test a small quantity so you don't have to redo it all. if it the substrate you have had since the beginning then your probably ok. it would have killed all of your fish already. but it wouldn't hurt to pull a few rocks out and test it.


hth

richard

 

[kevin007]

okay, thanx guys!

 

[impur]

I agree with tanked, if you've had it for 2 months you are probably ok. Limestone mainly leeches hardening salts into the water, raising the PH of the water. It isn't poisonous. If you haven't had unusual PH readings, you are fine.

 

[teknikz]

if they had lime in u'd know by now coz all ur fish would be bottom dwellers (dead)

lime is very poisonous to fish and doesnt take long to kill them.

if somewhere is sellin rocks as 'pond rocks' then they must be safe for ponds....which means they need to be okay for fish too.... i.e. no lime

they must test them at these places coz if u get any from a shop n it kills the fish then they are liable for false advertisin....i wouldnt worry bout it if its been 2 months n no1 has died

Tek

 

[impur]

limestone isn't poisonous to fish. It is used in some cichlid tanks to help keep the ph up. It is also used in many Marine tanks in place of coral to help buffer the ph. It simply keeps the hardness of the water up. I does not have lime in it. It is composed primarily of calcite (CaCO3). It forms either by direct crystallization from water (usually seawater) or by accumulation of shell and shell fragments. It is also a great source of CO2.

 

[kevin007]

yea, i guess that my rocks r okay, when it said pond rocks, cause they must be oka for fish if it's for ponds.

 

[-=DG=-]

Forgive my thickness, but whats the vinegar for? (im making an educated guess from reading the thread and say its for limestone?)