Rock from a rock querries

[woodie1976]

we desided that we that we are going to make a cichlid tank in our 75 gallon .... so we went and bought natural colored rock and some tall fake plants today....well i was sitting here trying to figure out a rock formation in the tank for the cichlids to play in ..... i got the idea to call a local rock querrie and see if they had a pile of fist size rock..... they said yeah.... so we went out there with the kids and a cupple buckets and got a bunch of rocks.... NOW i'm wondering what i'm going to have to do with all this rock before we stick it in this tank to make a place for the cichlids to play and hide at..... some tell me boil it.... some tell me to let it soak in water for weeks on end and i have even been told since it has been thru the crusher that i sould be fine to stick it right in after being sprayed off with the hose....

any help would be greatly apprecreated

thanks

tim

 

[Rbishop]

While I have just scrubbed and rinsed some in the past, and put them in the tank, I am a little more careful now days. I usually boil for 10-15 minutes, cool and use.

 

[woodie1976]

oh boy..... its going to be a LONG day.... here is a cupple pics of what we bought..... $2.00 USD for what ya see here in both pics..... the red bin is a 2.5 bushel container and the yellow is a 27 lbs. cat litter bucket and i think our biggest pan for something like that is going to hold maby 2 or 3 rocks :|

 

[pbecot01]

I got my rock the same way... i scrubbed it down with water with a bit of bleach and hit it with dechlorinator after. Two years running now with no problems.

 

[DeRo316]

If you're using that much rock I suggest you use eggcrate under it all for some extra support and so there arent any sharp points on the glass.

 

[rosswake]

eggcrate? Is that a picture of one above my post? where do you buy them in sizes large enough for a tank? I'm about to add rock structures to my tank and thought the eggcrate thing isn't a bad idea. thnsk

 

[DeRo316]

Yup thats a pic of what it looks like. You can find it in hardware or lighting stores. It usually comes in a big sheet and you can cut it to any shape you want with some decent scissors or a razor. It is used a lot in saltwater by people with large rock/reef setups.