safe or not safe fot the flishers?

[plecoperson]

when you say "boil rocks from your garden before putting them in the tank" how do you do it? pour boiling water out of the kettle over it or do it a different way? how do you do it? I dound some nice rocks in the garden which I wanna put in my tank but how do I make them safe for the flishers?

 

[Chasing Puck]

Clean all the dirt off that you can, then pour the boiling water over them several times--if it's small enough, boil the whole thing in a pot.

I'd also determine what kind of rock it is, and if it will alter the chemistry of the water at all. If you've fertilized the area where the rocks or, or treated with any pesticides, you'll also want to determine if the rocks are porous--if so, I would not use them at all.

 

[plecoperson]

well - i dont know where the rocks have come from - because they have been sitting on top of the coal bin for at least a week, probably more. i dont think my mother has used any chemicals in the garden for at least a month.

 

[Chasing Puck]

Some of the fertilizers can remain in porous rocks for much more than a month. If you can't determine what they've been exposed to, it's not worth the risk, IMO.

 

[Tropjunky]

do the vinigar test on the rocks

 

[gixer]

people worry unnecessarily about the safety of rocks out of a possibly polluted stream. Rocks won't absorb pollutants. Of course, when you select your stream it won't be right below the paper mill's effluent either, nor downstream from the old uranium mine

ps...the vinegar test is useless on many rocks... (for the 100th time i have said it)

 

[Chasing Puck]

While I seldom argue with the Skeptical Aquariast, porous rocks that have been sprayed with fertilizers or pesticides are much different than the rocks found in a stream bed. The composition of those rocks will determine if they will trap poluutants or not--for example, copper from medications will bind with rocks in the aquarium and slowly leach out. While this isn't a huge problem for most fish, it can be deadly for invertebrates.