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