scavenged aquarium decorations?

[rich]

so upon putting my aquarium together i noticed the jacked up prices the LFS charges for wood, rocks, and flashy little whatnots. is it feasible to find things around the house and yard, clean em up and drop em in there? like could i go to the beach and get some nice rocks, saok em in a bucket for a while and call em tank ready? could i clean up some terracotta pots, break em up and make little tank safe caves?

is this a dangerous plan? does anyone have any witty idea for found decorations?

 

[Tetratastic]

Yes and no...

Obviously you'll want to make sure that whatever you use is boiled, bleached, or otherwise sterilized before you put it in your tank (that much you knew already).

You'll also want to be careful though that you're not putting something in to the tank that seems harmless, but could in fact hurt the fish. You'll want to take care that whatever you put in isn't going to alter your water perameters too much, esp if you have sensitive fish. Even something as benign as a rock could leach minerals into the water over time.

I'm a big fan of the terra cotta pots, those mixed with some large stones would be an attrative, inexpensive alternative.

If cost is a big issue, you could also shop in stores that have nothing to do with fish... get shells at a little tourist shop at the beach, or get silk plants at the arts and crafts store. Some of these places care the same or similar items at a lesser cost.

 

[carpguy]

You'll want to be careful with shells. They'll run up your pH. Same with limestone, same with a few other rocks. There is the vinegar test, where you scratch a nice fresh spot on the rock and pour a little vinegar on it -- if it fizzes its out. To be safer, you can leave some rocks in a bucket of water for a few days and test to see what it does to the parameters.

You'll also want to be careful where you collect. Avoid areas where the rocks may have been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. You might also want to avoid busy roadsides where the rocks may be coated in exhaust residue and other pollutants.

Some folks recommend boiling, bleaching, etc. I can't say its a bad idea but I only washed my rocks in hot water (absolutely no soap!) and scrubbed the dirt off them. They were collected on a hillside in the woods.

Collecting in nature gives the added advantage of having a natural looking collection. Similar types of rocks with similar coloration have a nice unified look to them in the tank. Cobbles from a streambed would be ideal.

I also collected my own driftwood. Pines and sappy things like that should be avoided. Soft spots should be removed and soft wood avoided. Live would should be avoided. Boiling will sterilize and help it to waterlog, if possible. Mine wouldn't fit in my biggest pot, spent the night in the bathtub after being doused with hot and boiling water. Sanded away things that sand away.

So no, its not dangerous if you're careful about it.

 

[OrionGirl]

Just a quick note--used pots should not be put in the tank. Fresh, new ones are fine, but used pots tend to leach nitrates and potassium into the water (from fertilizers), as well as any other chemicals used on the plants. Not a good thing!

 

[rsava]

Good word from OrionGirl, used pots are a no-no. New clean pots are pretty cheap, and you depending on the size of the fish you can get two homes out of one pot. Just be vewwy vewwy careful and smoth out the broken edges. Look around at garden shops, landscaping shops, etc. I bought something like 200lbs of rocks for ~$15. I bring a little vial of vinegar with me and test the rocks I look at. If it bubbles I don't want it and the people don't usually care if you do it.

You can find lots of things if you "scavenge" but as other posters say, CLEAN WELL.