help real quick

[latazyo]

I have some rocks, I found them at McDonalds in their landscaping, I brought them home, soaked them in bleach and water for about 3 hours, then rinsed them off and set them out to dry....they have TINY amounts of rust on them

can they be put in the tank?

[SusanA]

You can be very sure that McDonalds uses fertilizers and pesticides to maintain their landscaping. I personally would not take the chance. The bleach will kill organic stuff, but chemical stuff is hard to get rid of.

Just my opinion, tho.

[latazyo]

excellent point, which I have never thought of

but I DO have some of the unrusted rocks in my 20g and have for a few weeks, so I think I dodged that bullet

thank you for bringing that to mind for me to think about in the future...

any word about the rust though, will rust on the rocks hurt the fish?

[Jeremy S]

I don’t think you should take the risk of putting them in your tank when you can just buy rocks that are aquarium safe at your LFS.

[latazyo]

uhhh....we're talking softball sized rocks and bigger, if I wanted to pay 1.99/pound at the petstore I would do that, but I can't justify paying for rocks (gravel is an exception)

[Jeremy S]

I would rather pay the money than loose all of my fish just because I put a rock in my aquarium. ;)

[jiggerpolebill]

why not just find the closest stream or river bed? ive also found alot of rocks in a new subdivision being built behind my house. it was low laying land that had to be built up with fill dirt. i had the same problem as you with paying for rock. i just cant see it when there's so much laying around.

[latazyo]

again...the pet store does NOT sell big natural rocks, they sell ceramic painted stuff that looks like fake rocks with plants growing off of them though....well...I think they'll be fine...I don't even have any fish in the tank in question anyways

[jafo]

Give them the vinegar and magnet test. Put a few drops on the rocks, if you see any fizzing, don't use them. Also see if a magnet will stick. If it does, don't use it.

[latazyo]

wow...excellent advice, I'll try that later today

[Finzzup]

Originally posted by jafo
Give them the vinegar and magnet test. Put a few drops on the rocks, if you see any fizzing, don't use them. Also see if a magnet will stick. If it does, don't use it.

Just curious here... if a rock has metal in it, why would it be bad to put into the aquarium? I can understand rust, but not sure about why to avoid metal?

[wetmanNY]

Are there really no rocks in North Dakota?

If you keep a big shovel in the trunk of your car, you can also find small evergreens in front of the savings bank.

Macdonald's landscapers will be scratching their heads come snowmelt next year, when they find that some of the rocks are missing!

[NJ Devils Fan]

Yea, I don't think you should put them in. You can get rocks from plenty of other places. There is no reason to chance it.

[latazyo]

well....where would you guys get rocks....imagine a ten pound rock (I"m talking pretty good sized rocks here) at 1.99/#, that's 19 dollars for that rock, that is rediculous

should I get the rocks from a gravel supply place instead?

[Molino]

That's what I was going to suggest. You can probably get a large number of rocks at a gravel supply place for a good price.

I've gotten rocks there (not for aquarium use) and filled up the trunk of my car, several times, for next to nothing.

They're used to selling it by the ton to contractors filling up dumptrucks, so if they're willing to sell you a small amount they'll be really cheap.

[wetmanNY]

Don't you want water-worn cobbles? Rocks that look like they've been in the water? It's a little cold right now, but why don't you search along a stream-bed?

[latazyo]

yes, wetman, that is what I want...but the only river in Fargo is more muddy than rocky

I will be in a city this christmas that has a rocky river...anyways...the rocks will likely be taken from shore where they will be muddy/slimy/mossy

should I give them the bleach treatment as well?

does anyone know if rust affects water chemistry and/or is dangerous to fish?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by wetmanNY
Are there really no rocks in North Dakota?

[/I] ...good one.. LOL
But, try and find a rock here in FL...

[carpguy]

I took a large backpack out into the woods. Twice. Came out with a hundred odd lbs of very nice rock, hand picked, uniform in color. I also found a great collection of nicely rounded streambeddy rocks in a drainage coming off a cornfield. Small to quite sizable, and again they all sort of match each other. (WARNING: this rock thing can go to far -- I now need to return a hundred lbs or so back to the wild).

I personally can't see the point in paying perfectly good money for a rock I can pick up off the ground. I'm going to assume ND has just as much ice age rubble strewn all over everything as NY. Terminal Moraine, baby. I would stay out of the garden at McDonalds, and anywhere else you might see a guy watering with a tank of blue chemicals attached to a hose. My farmer fertilizes with manure (dairy farm) and doesn't spray anything. Wilderness=good.

As far as the iron goes: I added laterite to my tank and my next one will most likely have a flourite substrate. These are used by a lot of the folks out here (esp. the plant folk) and are used specifically to introduce iron into the tank (for the benefit of the plants). I doubt your rocks are going to introduce more iron than that. There are iron test kits if you're still in doubt, it never hurts to let some test rocks sit in a bucket for a week and then test KH, GH, pH, and iron. If you're not happy with what it does to the bucket, keep it out of your tank.

And if anyone needs some nice rocks…

[jiggerpolebill]

all of the rocks in my aquarium were either slimey or dug out of the mud. the way i cleaned them was to get a scrub brush and scrub them in clean water. i did the vinegar trick and if they passed that, i then boiled them for 4 to 6 hours. try going to new subdivision thats just being graded for construction. you should have no problem finding rocks. and not just small ones. there are some behind my house that are pushing 75 to 100lbs easy. youll also find a large variety as well from boxy and jagged to smooth and rounded. just my 2 cents. good luck rock hunting.

[MoJo]

Keep in mind that rocks are porous. I would be extrememly careful of washing them in bleach and themn rinsing them off. If you have the "wrong rock" you could have bleach residue leech into the tank.

[Slappy*McFish]

I agree....I usually just boil them in salty water for a few min., then scrub them down with baking soda and a toothbrush. I too, refuse to buy a rock...lol...rediculous..I usually collect them myself.

[latazyo]

wow...thanks for the support...the last four of you

and you are right, our state is covered with rock and fertile farmland, that is all it is...

I just picked McDonald's because it is on campus and I noticed it while eating there one day

I"m going to see what I can get at a gravel product store today (for slate) and if they have some rock sitting around, I'll ask if I can just have it

alright, I'll see if I can get soemthing that will allow for me to boil them for a long time, and then I"ll keep you updated

[Finzzup]

Originally posted by latazyo
I found them at McDonalds in their landscaping....
Have to admit it -- I went through the McDonald's drive-thru a little while ago and was checking out those rocks! :D