Rocks

corbettfam7 · 09-07-2006, 08:13 PM

I would like to know where can i get some good rocks to go into my 75 gallon tank? I have two plastic plants and a recked ship, so i would like to build a cave for my pleco. I live in maryland and i don't think that home depot will carry what i'm looking for! So i need to know what kind of rocks and where i can get them from?

thank you//////

thewebpop · 09-07-2006, 08:24 PM

I am not sure if I did anything wrong but I just went to a local landscape company and picked a few of the slate rock. I also collected some rocks from Mountain Streams when I was in North Carolina. Just a thought. Good Luck, Pop's

Loman · 09-07-2006, 10:45 PM

I have done similar things to get rock and it can work out just fine. You do need to be a little careful though. Understand what kind of rock you have before plopping it into the tank. Some rocks may contain minerals that you would never want to put in the tank. For example I would not want to put shale into a tank. I was also ways very careful to avoid any rock that I thought might secrete something that was undesirable. Even something like a river rock could have pollutants that you would be hard pressed to get off the rock. That said I used to go get all my own rocks. I would grab them from falls off of a mountain and then clean up really good (I usually boiled them to be sure things were good and dead but that might be over kill)

thewebpop · 09-07-2006, 11:02 PM

I agree, I should have mentioned that in my post. Yes, I have heard others talk about cleaning (boiling was a good choice) Jay had to warn me about lime stone gravel and rocks a few weeks ago. It can mess with the PH.
Happy rock hunting to all.
Pop's

corbettfam7 · 09-08-2006, 09:18 AM

Thank you for the information, I think i will try my local rock cory first.

aj2998 · 09-09-2006, 07:05 PM

What types of rock are OK? I have a few rocks I collected in my tank (it's cycling w/o fish) and I boiled them, so far my pH is alkaline (of course ammonia is sky high). thanks AJ

Loman · 09-09-2006, 10:16 PM

Aj,
When I was doing this I was not all that scientific about it. Some rocks seem to be "wetter" than others and when put in a tank put off a oily substance. I would never put one in that I could detect was releasing any form of chemicals into the tank simply by looking. Some rocks have also been in locations that I would question and exposed to chemicals or other toxins and I would avoid these. If the rock smells bad it is probably bad for the tank. If you get a slimy look I would also not use that rack. I typically used river rock or rock that I picked up from a rock slide in the mountains I will try to figure out what kind of rock it was but looking at these it was obvious that the rock was not going to produce visible chemicals in the tank. You still want to watch the other chemicals so they do not get out of whack

aj2998 · 09-09-2006, 10:59 PM

Thanks!- I'm just trying to figure out which ones don't put off as much Ca or other minerals that throw off the balance. I have a few in my tank now that I'm sure arn't giving off anything other than minerals (cleaned and boiled).

thewebpop · 09-10-2006, 10:21 AM

Man, is there anything you do not know about? Good Advice, good information...

Especially about "boiling" and shrapnel flying thru the kitchen. (Had not thought about that one)

Thanks again Jay,
Pop's