Rocks for african 29 gallon?

[OoHeatheroO]

For my 29 gallon african setup I want to get flat rocks and use silicon to make them into hiding houses for the fish to swim in and out of...What rock should i use?

 

[Ferris]

Slate would probably be the best bet for what you want, cheap too. If you fancy a couple of nice looking rocks for effect, I'd reccomend rainbow rock or rose quartz, both look stunning.

 

[Sunny.C]

limestone,lava rock...

 

[BobbyBray]

I know this is a very old post, but I've got a question related to the OP's question. I live in Alaska, so unfortunately buying slate from my LFS is a bit expensive, no doubt they're passing along the cost of shipping. At present, the two ideas I've got is to simply find a number of rocks outside and use them, or the other thought I had was to buy some slate tiles from Home Depot and break them up to arrange it in a nice formation. Anyone know if either of those ideas will work?

 

[kribensis12]

Holey rock is great.

 

[BobbyBray]

Not a ton of that around here, but I guess I'll see what I can find.

Just curious, what do you guys think about using store bought tiles, like the kind normally used for floors. I don't see what the problem could be, just through I'd check.

 

[Bert]

I just take rocks from rivers and boil them.

 

[loraxchick]

i also use "outdoor" rocks that i find...just bleach them and let them dry in the sun. never had a problem.

 

[Fishin Pole]

I wouldnt suggest boiling rocks..........Boiling rocks can make them explode..........Its not a guarantee that it WOULD happen, but rock shards flying around your kitchen will put holes in your wall or possibly if they hit you in the head, kill you.............Scrub with a mild bleach solution and rinse very well and then rinse them again.........There was an incident a few years ago in Oregon where a guy was killed from boiling his rocks.........They dug some rocks out of his second floor ceiling......Some went straight through the ceiling of the first floor into the second story............It probably doesnt happen often, but its not worth the risk when you can just scrub them off and get the same results

 

[8inary]

i hate to suggest this idea - however, why not go with top quaility artificial rock.

I know many will be like, ugh no way - however i did this with my tropical tank - i sought a high grade
artificial rock which is molded from fuji rock and hand painted to show a similar colour. I bought circa £370 worth
of various sizes/shaped rock and used silicon to stick them together.

if in doubt, please see my vid below: -

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLGa8d9L1SY...re=channel_page

 

[injektion]

i'd imagine it would be alright to use slate tiles broken into a few pieces. just make sure to clean the tiles well as they will have some debris and powder left over from when they were cut.

i use river rocks i found in my backyard in my aquarium as well but again just make sure its clean

 

[BobbyBray]

Wow, didn't know boiling rocks could be so dangerous, haha. My LFS has some decent looking rocks, perhaps in the end I'll just end up getting those and setting them up. Sometimes its just best to do it right the first time around, besides it'll look much better.