Tank Rocks

[bulkerb]

Can anyone tell me please can you put any sorts of rocks in your tropical tank
i live in a very flinty area and having seen the price of rocks i want to know if i steralise or boil my rocks can i put them in my tank and spend the money on fish instaed many thanks
bulkerb

 

[ollyhtafc]

Flint should be ok to use, but watch for it scratching your tank.

And not any rocks can be used, some contain metals or whatever and some will change the pH of your water and other stats.

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...n-The-Aquarium/

That's a good guide ^^

 

[Matty P]

You should really always sterilize rocks before putting them into your tank, this will kill of any bacteria that could and probably will be living on them. Also if your unsure whether a rock will leach into your tank you can put a few drops of vinegar on them and see if it fizzes or not. If it fizzes it will leach into your tank and make the pH and Hardness of your water rise.

HTH

 

[Seed]

You should check what kind of rock you are putting in. Some can dissolve some extent and affect the pH and hardness of your tank water, limestone and marble mainly, or other carbonate stone. Silicate rocks are a good bet, granite, other silicates, as they are quite insoluble and shouldn't affect the hardness of the water or pH. And yes, boil your rocks if possible, and boil them for a long period of time to make sure you heat the rock through to its center. The reason for that is that natural stone may have microscopic fractures that bacteria and fungus spores can live in that a superficial heating of the stone wouldn't address.

I'm using natural stone in my main tank at the moment. I live in California, USA, and my parents have a nice spread of land in the heart of Gold Country. I found an abandoned gold mine with extensive tailings of black granite, some of which has nice quartz veins in it, and lots of pyrites. The dark stone is excellent for contrasting the colors of my mbuna, and due to the blasting used to break up the rock, I have been able to find a huge variety of interesting shapes.


Lol looks like the other two above me were quicker on the draw.

 

[Matty P]

I'm using natural stone in my main tank at the moment. I live in California, USA, and my parents have a nice spread of land in the heart of Gold Country. I found a gold mine with extensive tailings of black granite, some of which has nice quartz veins in it, and lots of pyrites. The dark stone is excellent for contrasting the colors of my mbuna, and due to the blasting used to break up the rock, I have been able to find a huge variety of interesting shapes.

Wow sounds nice, got any pics?

Sorry for going off topic

 

[Seed]

I don't have any pics right now, sorry. I will be buying a digital camera soon, when I do I'll post some pictures on the picture thread.

 

[Matty P]

Alrite, looking forward to seeing them

 

[crazyaussie]

hi
i use a type of rock called slate and quartz it really good stuff