Advice on Rocks needed!

[JazzyB]

Here's the skinny:

I'm planning on getting a 55G and setting it up as a cichlid tank. When I see rocks for sale at the LFS something inside of me says, "Don't pay for rocks, collect them from the roadside.";)

So today I went to collect some rocks I thought would look nice in the tank. I hear that slate and granite are okay but would like a few opinions. What rocks can and/or cannot be used? How does one make them tank safe?:confused:

Any other advice on using FREE, non-LFS, found alongside the road rocks would be great!:cool:

[t_h_e_s_a_c_k]

Good call on not buying rocks from your LFS. If you have a river or lake near by go look for some there. There's often good pieces of wood there too. If not then just keep doing what you're doing...;)

[JazzyB]

Any idea on how to make them tank safe?

[valerie]

What type of cichlids are you keeping? Some rocks might raise your ph. When i was choosing rocks for my tank i went to the gravel yard and took vinagar with me. Wheni found some rocks i put a bit of vinagar on it to see if it would bubble. If it bubbled it will raise your ph.

To make them safe, make sure you didn't find any rocks in a poluted area.I jstu cleaned mine with a tooth brush and bleached them.Then rinsed with declor. and let them dry.

[JazzyB]

Originally posted by valerie
Wheni found some rocks i put a bit of vinagar on it to see if it would bubble. If it bubbled it will raise your ph. To make them safe, make sure you didn't find any rocks in a poluted area.I jstu cleaned mine with a tooth brush and bleached them.Then rinsed with declor. and let them dry.

I'm considering African, but I'm somewhat new to cichlids and I have to research their preferred conditions, etc.

So the vinegar revelas the acidity in the rock? When you say that you bleach them do you mean with everyday bleach you buy in the supermarket? How much bleach did you use? What is declor.? Just making sure I do this properly and not kill any fish.:cool:

[valerie]

Dripping a bit of vinegar on the rocks will let you know if they will dissolve and cause the PH to raise over time in you r tank. If the vinegar bubbles it means the rocks with eventually raise ph, which isnt' bad if you have africans but isn't want to want for some other species.

I use jsut regular bleach from the store.Just make sure its plain bleach with no smelly stuff added. I just put the rocks in a bucket and covered with water. I then jsut pour in some bleach. I don't think you can add too much. The ratio for bleaching plants is about 1bleach:20water but i use more when bleaching decorations,driftwood or rocks. Thenn jstu rinse it off and fill the bucket up with water and add the stuff you use to dechlorinate your water with.I add 2-3times the dose. Then jsut let them air dry. Should be good to use. I bleach lots of stuff and never had any problems.

[JazzyB]

Originally posted by valerie
The ratio for bleaching plants is about 1bleach:20water but i use more when bleaching decorations,driftwood or rocks. Should be good to use. I bleach lots of stuff and never had any problems.

Bleaching plants? So you bleach driftwood as well... Do you use driftwood found in freshwater or saltwater? Does it make a difference? And if I'm understanding you properly you use the same method for the driftwood as you do for the rocks?

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

collect
wash with course brush
boil
dry
boil
dry
stack
silicone (cure 48 hours)
thats all i do and never had problems

[JazzyB]

I have two questions:

1. What do you mean by stack?
2. What do you mean by silicone? How does one "silicone"?

[valerie]

He means stack the rocks in your tank the way you want them then silicon them together using aquarium silicon. You don't have to silicon but it helps make a rock wall sturdier. I siliconed some of my base rocks in my rock wall together. I was scared the fish would dig and the rocks would fall.

I personally have bleached plants, my driftwood, rocks and decorations. Mostly to get rid of algae. I use 1:20 for the plants and let them sit in this for 1-3 mins and taht gets rid of the algae without hurting the plant. For bleachign driftwood and decorations i just fill up my bucket untill the stuff is covered then add some bleach. I dont' measure. Rocks you dont' have to worry but certain kind of darker driftwood the color will change when you bleach it.My driftwood was already light so it wasn't a problem for me.

I have a piece of driftwood my dad found in a freshwater river and i have soem i boguht from the store. I prefer the store even thought it costs alot. The found driftwood took forever to sink and the store stuff sinks instantly. I would rather spend the money and save all that work.

[JazzyB]

Hey Valerie!

Thanks for the info, it has been very helpful and will save me lots of hard earned $$.

[lupi2279]

one word on the vinigar test.

Africans like hard water so the test doesnt nec apply

[BlueyKDX]

Just as lupi said, Africans like alkaline water. I have just set up a new African tank and I used slate and texas holey rock. I highly recommend getting some holey rock, its made of limestone which helps maintain a high ph plus it has lots of little holes and tunnels for the fish to swim and hide in. My fish love it.... it can be quite expensive though, so you can collect a bunch of rocks from outdoors and get 1 or 2 nice holeys to complement them.