A question on rocks and slate

[73Electra 225]

Hi, I just bought myself a 29 gal. tank that I am in the process of getting ready to set up. My dad has a 55 gal. tank and has a bunch of slate in it and I really like its look and ability to make caves and such. So heres the question. I have slate everywhere around my house, blue slate I believe, and wanted to know if I can just go outside and gather some up to use in the tank. I know I would have to rinse it first really good, but I want to get some opinions from the novices/experts. I also have a small stream behind the house and wanted to know if I can grab some stones and such from there as well. Getting these things for free would be nice.

[Ryan Simmons]

Should be fine if you have not used any chemicals... bug spray, fert., ect. "Wild Rocks" :) will be fine as well as long as the stream is clean.

[Captain Hook]

Slate should be perfectly fine for your tank. You may want to boil it or pour hot water over it first to ensure no harmful things get into your tank.

[125gJoe]

Boiling can't hurt.... I'd recommend it.

[JSchmidt]

I've always boiled my slate, for at least 20 minutes.

Jim

[73Electra 225]

Thanks everyone! My backyard just became a store :D .

[Anne L.]

If I may, I'd like to ask a question about rock as well.

Will I be able to put rock from our beach in the tank? I know that you can have a problem with limestone, but we have some really nice granite rocks out there that I would like to add to the tank.

From what I see here, it sounds like it would be ok as long as you boil the rock first, am I correct?

[tomm10]

Originally posted by Anne L.
If I may, I'd like to ask a question about rock as well.

Will I be able to put rock from our beach in the tank? I know that you can have a problem with limestone, but we have some really nice granite rocks out there that I would like to add to the tank.

From what I see here, it sounds like it would be ok as long as you boil the rock first, am I correct?

Slate is inert and won't cause any problems but a lot of rocks will affect the chemistry of your water. There is a way to test this by putting a few drops of acid or vinegar on your rocks. Unfortunately I don't know the full work up but if you do a search here for rocks in an aquarium you'll find it.

Tom

[JSchmidt]

Originally posted by Anne L.
If I may, I'd like to ask a question about rock as well.

Will I be able to put rock from our beach in the tank? I know that you can have a problem with limestone, but we have some really nice granite rocks out there that I would like to add to the tank.

From what I see here, it sounds like it would be ok as long as you boil the rock first, am I correct?

Granite should pose no problem. I boil rock before I use it. A bit of insurance against transporing nasties into my tank.

Jim

[73Electra 225]

Actually not sure if is slate now. More likely its bluestone. Here are 2 pics of what they look like, fresh out of a 20 min. boiling bath.

http://home.earthlink.net/~buick225/images/rock1.jpg


http://home.earthlink.net/~buick225/images/rock2.jpg

[daveedka]

All of the rocks mentioned would be fine, I would boil them for sure. If you are not 100% sure what Type of rock you are dealing with, A simple test I use is this. Clean and boil the rocks. Put them in a bucket of water from a tested source (I use distilled water from my Dehumidifier) Let them sit for a week. I always stick an airstone in the bottom of the bucket to create water movement around the rocks. After a week test the PH and hardness, and you'll know if the rocks are going to affect your tank parramiters.