Rocks I found

[qtaquaman]

I can say the granite is fine. Its the most popular rock in my tanks.

 

[daveedka]

2 of them are granite, and the other two are sedimentary. The rest of the rocks are from the ocean. I really don't know the types of rock they are.

Agreed the granite is most likely fine, the sediment could pose problems depending on make-up of the rocks. the vinegar test will Reveal whether or not the rocks will change your tank Ph (usually), examine very closely for evidence of metals, and lastly, soak the rocks several days to see if they get soft and turn to gunk in your tank. Many sedimentary rocks will melt underwater and make more of a mess than they are worth.

I dont think you should be putting any rocks in your tank, which aren't clearly labelled for aquarium use. You have no idea what chemicals those rocks have absorbed, even soaking them may not completely remove all the toxins. My advise is use em to start a rock garden and go down to your local pet store and get rocks which you know are SAFE.

While I wouldn't use parking lot rocks from the fuel station, I would hardly agree that it is necessary to buy rocks at the grossly inflated prices the LFS's sell them for. Around here, slate sells for $3 a pound at the LFS, Ganite and river rock sell for $2-3 a pound as well. in a rock quarry broken slate scraps sell for about $5 a ton the difference is roughly $5995 per ton for exactly the same rock. Granite and river rock go as high as $15 per ton so the savings would be slightly less.
Lanscaping outlets do a little better, but either way the last place I would advise buying rocks is the LFS. I collect rocks from quarries and road cuts all over the country for my tanks. if they are dirty i clean them, if they were underwater, I boil them to make sure any creepy things are dead. other than that the basic chemical tests are really the only concern.
dave

 

[qtaquaman]

Nicely put dav. it can be an expensive hobby save $ wherever you can.

 

[redbucket]

the last place I would advise buying rocks is the LFS. I

no kidding. there are only two LFS in my area, and both sell most rocks by size (not weight or what type of rock). anything worthwhile as a hiding space costs 15 bucks or more. the little foreground rocks are 5-10 dollars each.

i found some lava rocks in the forest i liked -- i soaked them in 10% bleach 90%water for a day or so, scrubbed them hard, soaked them in the same solution another day, then baked them in my oven for several hours (too big to boil). I put them in a bucket, tested the ph, ammonia, nitrite, hardness, and nitrate. left them there for a couple days and tested again, all was the same except hardness ever so slightly higher. I deemed them safe for use, and have had no problem with them since.

 

[Jason01]

I got all of my rocks for my cichlid tank from a river. I didn't actually get them out of the river, just a flood plain that will be underwater in 2 months when spring gets here. My LFS wants ~$2.00 a Lb. I got ~70 Lbs. of rock from my river. Cost? Rocks - Free, Small container of chlorine bleach - $4, medium bottle of dechlorinator - $8. My rocks cost me like $12......At the LFS, $140. I'll take my chances with my river rocks. Considering that the river rocks got the same treatment that I gave the ones I bought(foolishly) from the LFS.

I dont think you should be putting any rocks in your tank, which aren't clearly labelled for aquarium use. You have no idea what chemicals those rocks have absorbed, even soaking them may not completely remove all the toxins.

Not trying to start an argument, but how do I know that the rocks from my LFS were never exposed to chemicals? I do know that the ones that I removed from my local river are from a river that has fish in it........