found a rock pile...safe to use in a tank?

[dglockett]

i don't know much about this at all, but i found some nice looking rock near a creek by my house. i was thinking about taking some and using it in my new tank.

what steps do i need to take? is this safe at all?

pic of aforementioned rock pile:
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k613/dglockett/IMAG0089.jpg

[biggin]

Bleach and let it dry.

[JMatthew]

Then dechlorinate if with that method.

Personally, I've taken rock just the same way in the past and simply boiled it for about 10 minutes. Never had a problem with it once. The difficulty is for larger rocks you will need something to boil them in.

BTW - I don't reccomend that clear rock with the band of blue in the upper right hand corner.

[dglockett]

hahahahahahah, very funny.

i'm pretty stoked about this...it's gonna save me a ton of money on rock.

[JMatthew]

Another alternative is one I know that blue granite looks nice in the right tank. I've picked up and used alot of easily stackable pieces from landscape rock sellers for only 35 cents a pounds. Still winds up adding up to $50 or more when you get done, but cheaper than alternatives.

[biggin]

Bleach is the the best method, you never know what chemicals are on the rock... bleach and boil if you like.

Bleach is easy, cheap and gets the job done. Let it dry in the sun and if you like rinse it off. No need to dechlorinate. 24-48 hours on a sunny day and you are good.

[JMatthew]

No need to dechlorinate. 24-48 hours on a sunny day and you are good.

Cool - good to know ;)

[robert1]

LOL at the clear rock with blue stripe:3s:

[Rift2Reef]

LOL at the clear rock with blue stripe:3s:

Maybe the rocks were thirsty?

[Azreal]

wish i would have thought to ask for advice before doing this myself.... i skipped the bleach part for some reason and definitely regretted it. didn't kill any fish but had major algae problems that took awhile to get under control

[zekni]

Before you bother boiling and bleaching, test the rock to make sure it can go in your tank without affecting water chemistry first. Drip some vinegar on the rock in question. If it fizzes, no good. If it doesn't, proceed with the above cleaning methods.

[foreverknight]

ok i have see it multiple times about the vinegar but why would you not want it to affect the ph and makeing the water harder if you were makeing a african chilid tank?

[zekni]

Because you don't know how it's going to effect the water chemistry. What if it's going to leech metals instead of just harden the water?