Rocks Etc

[chrisodapz]

hi all,

i want to add some rocks to my tank and make a small cave for small fish / fry etc to use .
i have seen other peoples tanks on here and they use slate aswell . What is safe to use and is there a process of adding to the tank

thanks

chriso

 

[sXeLifer]

You can add most rocks found kicking about your garden, the beach etc just make sure you give them a good scrub down and boil them for a good hour or so to get rid of nasties. With slate, I don't have personal experience but I've been told that if you drop a couple milliliters of vinegar onto it and if it bubbles then its unsuitable. The only rock I would advise against using would be anything sulphuric. I like using granite and it's easy to get a hold of for me considering I'm in the northeast of Scotland

 

[waterdrop]

Slate is fine but as said it is always good practice to do the vinegar test on any decorations going in to the tank, so that you're sure there is not carbonate content that could raise your hardness and pH over time (limestone being one of the classic problems for this.)

Although I believe sXeLifer may have been thinking of slate in particular, it should always be understood that there are serious safety problems with boiling stone. There can be gas pockets (even ancient ones completely surrounded by rock) that can cause the rock to explode, potentially causing serious harm. Don't boil stone!

Just give it a good cleaning with water and sponge perhaps adding soaking time if necessary.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gilli]

Just scrub and add! Dont buy your slate from a fish shop - if you go to a garden centre you can buy lumps all sizes and colours dirt cheap! Just glue them together with aquarium silicone.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

i have slate caves as u can see in my sig... its not glued tho just good ole gravity and water pressure lol it doesnt move mind u

make sure theres no sharp edges obviously aswell lol

 

[Aqua Tom]

It is very good practice to silicone the slate together. If you have a plec like mine who likes to dig he could topple an unglued slate pile.

 

[chrisodapz]

hi,

Thanks for all your great advice,

chriso