Rocks Disintegrating?

[laura120381]

hi guys,

i am not entirely sure if this is an emergency or not! when i bought my tank second hand, it came with three rocks. they are definitely meant for aquariums, are sort of sand coloured and have white sort of painted on the base. i assumed because of this that they were synthetic and not real sandstone or anything. however, after cleaning the tank they seen to be 'steaming!' i had rubbed them gently with a toothbrush (only ever used in the tank btw!) to remove some of the algae build up and since then they seem to be disintegrating!! the best way i can describe it is that it is like there are plumes of smoke coming off them!! this is making the tank cloudy but does not appear to be altering the water parameters. this happened once before and i thought it was bacterial bloom. it cleared within a few days. is this dangerous for the fish?? should i take the rocks out of the tank?


thanks for any advice.

L.

 

[gatorsean]

hmmm that doesnt sound good. it could be releasing something toxic.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi laura120381

This is not an emergency so I'll move your thread over to the Tropical Discussion section.

I would suggest taking the rocks out if you think they might be causing harm to your tank. If you later find out that they are safe, then put them back. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[laura120381]

thanks inchworm. i wasn't sure if this was an emergency or not!! i was panicing that i might be poisoning the fish!! thank you for moving the post to the correct section for me, and for the advice.

L

 

[CrazyCichlaMomma]

get your handy dandy API PH and Kh test kits out and check to see if the rocks are making the water hard. that is the only real worry i would have. i believe that artificial rocks made to be in aquariums should be safe even after the coating or paint on the outside wears off. because it always wears off.