can i put rocks from outside into my fish tank??

Question

so i could way down my drift wood with rocks and rubberbands is this ok ??? or like toxic ???

Answer 1

Disinfecting the rocks is not really needed, no fish diseases live on dry rocks from your yard, lol. That's really just silly when you think about it. The thing to avoid is chemical contamination. Be sure they aren't from near a road, in a garden that has been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers, nothing like that. Wash the rock well with a scrub brush to be sure and then put it in a plastic container over night with just enough water to cover it. If any "oily" looking film appears on the water, then something is leeching out of the rock and you don't want that one. Also as someone else said avoid limestone rocks as they will apter the pH of your tank. If you want to be really sure ( and who doesn't?) check the pH of the water in the bucket with the rock before it soaks and after. Give it a little more time (24 hours or so) and check it again. It would be normal for the water to drop 0.1-0.3 from just sitting, but if it drops more than that or goes up and all, don't use that rock.

Rocks are fine for the tank, just test them out first!

Best of luck finding some cool looking ones!

Answer 2

Generally yes. Where do you think the rocks that the pet shops sell come from? Outside, like a quarry or gravel bed some place of course. Things watch. If the rock is a type of limestone that may affect the pH of the tank. But if you have limestone rocks laying around outside your house, chances are you have hard / high pH water anyway, and the rock isn't going to change things. The vinegar test will help you decide, but if you put a piece of limestone into pH 8.0 water, nothing at all will happen. Otherwise, just give a it good scrub. Some people boil them, but that's generally an overkill. Your hands have more bacteria than a rock does anyway, and a healthy aquarium has even more. Trying to make something sterile, then putting it in a fish tank is pretty much a waste of time. Ian

Answer 3

make sure to thoroughly sterilize the rocks. Rubber bands are bad will disintegrate over time especially in salt water. Also they usually put a powder on rubber bands that is toxic to fish.

Answer 4

It depends on the material..... I actually quite like quartz rocks in the aquarium.

You should put some in a bucket of water & test them after a couple weeks to see if they alter the water chemistry though. Many common rocks contian limestone which is bad for most aquarium setups. It raises the ph & adds to water hardness.

Answer 5

Rocks from outside are perfectly safe to put in your fish tank, as long as you thoroughly disinfect and clean them first.

However, pebble and driftwood from the beach needs more thorough cleaning if the fish tank is fresh water, not salt. The salt will leach out and kill fresh water fish.

Answer 6

It is not recommended to take rocks out of the garden and use them but I have only after boiling them for a half hour and then air drying them. Then socked them in declorinator and air dryed them again. Took about 3 days before a accually put them in my tank.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 7

Don't use rocks that are limestone.
Wash all rocks, but not with soap.
Freshwater tanks are more tolerant.
Saltwater...forget it my friend.
soak your driftwood for a week or two, until the salt comes out of it. Little sappy blobs might also come out, just scrape those off.

there...short and sweet.

Answer 8

Sure is. My hubby got some rocks from a lake, and we boiled them before putting them in our tanks. They look awesome!

Answer 9

try boiling them -- it should kill just about anything on the rocks. i use rocks and rubberbands for plants -- it works fine.

Answer 10

i dont thik rocks from outside is safe for your fish it could cause your fish to get sick due to the residue that might be shed from the rocks, i would recommend that you use artificial rocks for aquariums u can get them at your local pet store!