Gravel Issue! Advice Welcome!

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beta378

Registered Member
Jan 5, 2009
1
0
0
Hello All!

I am beta378, and am newbie to this site, and a novice at best to aquaria.

Here is what is going on:
So I recently decided to begin a f/w tank project. I was careful in planning and read up on and selected what I thought were good products (See Below). I then shopped around and slowly purchased the aforementioned products and assembled the tank.

The problem didnt arise until I began selecting decor for my tank. I wanted it to really be nice looking almost picturesque. I was considering substrate and decided on decorative rock commonly found in small plastic mesh bags at department stores. Unsure whether this was a safe substrate I spoke with an individual at my LFS, and we both decided I would soak them in my sink for a few days first as a trial run.

What I felt could be the issue was the "clear coat" that is applied to these types of stones. I was unsure if it would fail underwater.

Well anyhow after the first few days in the sink it seemed ok. So i added it into the tank and turned everything on. It looks great by the way.

Then a few days later I noticed a thick frothy foam on the surface of the water. It was a bit unusual by appearance so I began to look into it. After reaching in the tank I noticed it was adhering to my arm and leaving behind a black colored residue on my skin. Also, the rocks are "slimy" to the touch, though it feels like if you rub them the slimy aspect disipates (perhaps can be cleaned off). At this point the temperature was at 81 degrees F.

Anyways I figured a few 50% water changes over 6-8 weeks might solve the issue. Though now I have the tank drained to about 7% volume and am considering perhaps adding vinegar to clean off the substrate, of course then doing several flushes of the tank with my gravel hose.

I am not sure of any of these steps and am seeking any advice and or experience with this type of concern that may be applicable.

Dont not fear, I wouldnt dare add fish to this tank until I was absolutely sure of the water quality. I do not fully understand the nitrate cycle yet but look forward to reading on this site and learning.

Also, I am not sure of the species this tank will house in the future. But I know I am interested in f/w goby's.

Sorry for the long post (my first ever)

Thanks in advance for your attention to this concern!

Regards,

beta378


Equipment:


  • Marineland 37G Tank
  • Black Wooden Stand
  • Marineland C-160 Canister Filter
  • JBJ 5W UV Light Sterilizer
  • Aqueon Heater
  • Lee's 50' Ultimate Gravel Hose
 

Veloth

AC Members
Jun 15, 2008
392
0
0
73
South Carolina
:welcome: to AC. Like jm said, a closeup would be nice but it sounds like your rocks. My daughter setup a 55g with some sort of black pebbles that did the same thing after about three weeks the black started to come off in little tiny pieces.
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
4,676
0
0
USA West Coast
Real Name
Susan
Welcome beta378. I've seen these stones in craft stores. As you've found out for us, they're not aquarium safe. I don't know for certain if you can remove all traces of that residue from the coating. Someone else will be along soon to address that part.

To wash everything down now after you take the stones out, I would use plain water mixed with a generous dollop of distilled white vinegar. Then rinse all that away thoroughly using a lot of water in the sink, your bathtub, or outside spraying it with a hose.

Now for the rocks... if this had worked better, you probably would have taken them out anyway. Fish waste and uneaten food that decays will collect between and below them. To maintain your tank on a continual basis would have become a real chore the longer you keep doing this. To get the bottom really clean, you'd have to shuffle the rocks around to get under them. What would that do? Stir up all the muck from down there back into the water... to again settle down all over the place. It's a small tank, so maybe you wouldn't mind. But it looks real hard to keep clean, from what I can tell.

What you can do if you really like the way these stones look... stop by a garden center, nursery, pond supplier, landscaping supplier, or a place that sells landscaping rock and find a bunch of river stones you like. Make sure they haven't been used before - so no coatings, pesticides, etc. Then choose a matching or contrasting substrate of regular fish tank gravel or sand -- and place a smaller number of these river stones on top of that. When it comes time to clean the tank, you can move those around as you would other small bits of decor to gravel-vac the substrate underneath.
 

lucy42083

AC Members
Jan 20, 2008
751
0
0
Wappingers Falls, NY
Now for the rocks... if this had worked better, you probably would have taken them out anyway. Fish waste and uneaten food that decays will collect between and below them. To maintain your tank on a continual basis would have become a real chore the longer you keep doing this. To get the bottom really clean, you'd have to shuffle the rocks around to get under them. What would that do? Stir up all the muck from down there back into the water... to again settle down all over the place. It's a small tank, so maybe you wouldn't mind. But it looks real hard to keep clean, from what I can tell.

What you can do if you really like the way these stones look... stop by a garden center, nursery, pond supplier, landscaping supplier, or a place that sells landscaping rock and find a bunch of river stones you like. Make sure they haven't been used before - so no coatings, pesticides, etc. Then choose a matching or contrasting substrate of regular fish tank gravel or sand -- and place a smaller number of these river stones on top of that. When it comes time to clean the tank, you can move those around as you would other small bits of decor to gravel-vac the substrate underneath.
:iagree: You would have eventually had to remove these large stones anyway, as it would have created a major issue with decaying food, waste etc. accumulating in the large gaps between the stones, and made it very difficult to gravel vac effectively.
 

BELLUM

AC Members
Nov 15, 2005
178
0
0
Chicago
What you are describing is the clear coat paint that is sprayed on to the rocks to give them shine. This will brake down in water depending on what kind is used. Also it's does so slowly and you will never get all of it off. My suggestion is to get rid of the rocks. For this reason and also the reason stated by others about it being a pain in the *** to clean with water changes.

A cheap alternative is pool filter sand. I love the stuff and you can get a 50lbs bag for under 15 dollars. Sand packs tight so most of your waste will sit on the top. You hold the siphon a couple inches away when doing water changes and the waste gets sucked up. However you have to stir the sand every once in a while because gas pocket that are harmful can form under the sand. When you do this turn your filter off.

Also, once you get the rocks out you will need to rinse everything off. Give the driftwood a little scrub down. Make sure you get all the coating off of everything.

Welcome to AC and The hobby.

Bellum
 
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