Scavanging Rocks

[Wills]

Hi wasnt sure where to post this so sorry if its in the wrong place.

I live right next to a big river in east yorkshire (points for guessing which one) and a few hundred yards from my apartment there is a rocky shore with tons of rocks that would go really well in my new tank - question is are they safe? And if they are not safe but can be made safe how do I do it? Just thinking it will save me ££s in set up costs but if its not safe then Id rather not risk it.

Thanks Wills

 

[wackystarfish]

I have used beach rocks with no bad effects! You can never be sure though so when using them you have to keep a real close eye on your fish and ph levels etc... To be a bit more safe, test each rock by adding a drop of vinegar to it, if it fizzes; no good that means it will change the ph of your water. After that, boil up the rocks for as long as possible to kill of any nasties
Hope this helps,
Finlay

 

[Wills]

awsome thanks for the advice I know roughly what types of rocks to use but I will double check with that test

 

[Jonty]

DON'T BOIL THEM

Though I've never scanvanged rocks, I know they can explode when boiled.

Just scrub them under hot running water - better safe than sorry!

 

[lordofthesea]

i've always boiled rocks ..... anyway, yes. i always scavenge rocks. as long as they don't leech into the water, they sould be fine.

 

[Jonty]

i've always boiled rocks ..... anyway, yes. i always scavenge rocks. as long as they don't leech into the water, they sould be fine.

Yeh, it's just something I've heard people warning about. Never heard of any actual explosions though...

 

[Wills]

right just got back with the rocks most are black and smooth though some have a slightly porus or eroded end - nothing happened with the vinegar and im just about to soak them now I'm still a bit worried though also some grey ones I got nothing on the vinegar test either but a bit concerned they are limestone? Would it have shown up on the vinegar test if they were?

 

[dave_oddballs]

personally id choose just smooth rocks, that way you are making sure there is little chance of any bugs hiding away in the rocks, iv always boiled rocks, they only crack and stuff when exposed to intense heat like on a fire!

 

[Wills]

yeah I wondered about that as well but like I say I just filled a bucket with boiling water so hopefully they should be okay - at the end of the day I guess even the rocks in the aquatics store have as much of a chance of having bugs in as these.

 

[Wills]

just tested the Ph of the water in the bucket with the rocks in this morning and its made it go up so I'm going to chuck them back when i next go out and just buy them from the LFS there is a good string of garden centers near me as well so might go for a scavenge for the cheapest ones. Black Granite me thinks