Safe rocks?

bpcatch22 · 09-26-2008, 11:38 AM

Hi again all!
How can you tell if rocks that you find on your own from the creek, river, gravel road, etcc.... are safe for your tank? What I mean is I found some really cool rocks that I would like to add to my aquarium but I do NOT want to raise the PH! How can I tell if they will raise the PH of my water or not?

Also how do I prep them for the tank? I read somewhere ( prolly here! ) that you clean them well, soak them in 19:1 water/bleach, then soak them again in 10x dechlorinator. Is this true? If so how long do I need to soak them in each solution?

THANKS, BP

LiVe4fIsH · 09-26-2008, 12:25 PM

Hey Bp. Im sure others will stop by and chime in with some great ideas of what you can do. As you wait, I thought I would give some of my own ideas, until others come. Vinegar has been used before for a test on the rocks to determine if the rocks had any calcium inside. If the rock had some in it, the acid would fizz only on calcareous rocks. I've resently read somewhere online though, of a better acid source for using this test. The products name is pH down. This product, which is obviously used to lower pH is a strong enough acid to test the rocks to see if they are safe for the aquarium. Good luck!

-Izzy

gregpape23 · 09-26-2008, 03:56 PM

The vinegar idea works most of the time, sometimes it will take a long time to fizz or it will not fizz at all. I have not tried the PH down idea but it sounds like it would work. A sometimes more reliable method: fill a 5gal bucket (or whatever size you want) with regular dechlorinated water. Throw the rock in there, and test the water every few days (or weekly) and see if there is a change in PH. (oh and test the water before you put the rock in so that you have something to compare to.)

As far as cleaning the rock I would say soak it in the bleach solution for a few hours. (i honestly don't know but that sounds right lol

)
And then after that just put it in a bucket and do 50% water changes daily for a few days. (and scrub it w/a brush.)

If you need anything else, just ask!
Hope this helped,
Greg