River Rocks

[robert.sadler]

Hi

I live near the Forth River in Scotland and was wondering if I could go and get some nice bg rocks from there for in my tank and clean them up?

How would I be best cleaning them?

Would boiling them loads suffice?


Cheers


Robert

 

[darknirvana217]

I've used river stones from North Carolina, U.S. and never had a problem with them and they never changed my Ph. All I did was scrub them off and then rinse them. I never boiled them, usually you do that for wood when you want to release the tannins, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to boil them.

 

[robert.sadler]

Cool man sounds good to me

Anyone else had any experience with this?

Cheers

Robert

 

[darknirvana217]

Just one other thing. If you could, put the rock into a temporary tank and test the water to see if the rock changes the chemistry. shouldn't need anymore than a 10 gallon or 33 liter tank. I'm not sure what kind of rocks you have in Scotland, so just check it and make sure its ok. Wouldn't want any surprises when you put it in the tank.

 

[invader]

There is also a vinegar test that you could try. Here is a quote from The Wolf's rock guide in the FAQ:

There are a lot of rocks to avoid in the fresh water aquarium, these include - Ores (rocks containing metal) & Calcareous (rocks containing Calcium) these shouldn't generally be used for fresh water tanks. As a rule of thumb, test the rock with an acid to see if it fizzes. If it does then the rock contains calcium and is unsuitable for aquarium use. I use white vinegar but you can, with the proper precautions and safety gear, use hydrochloric acid. Also you should pour boiling water over your rocks or wherever possible immerse them in boiling water to clean them and to kill any unwanted bacteria that may be living on it. Do not boil or roast in an oven and never use a microwave to heat up rocks.