Can I use lake rocks in my fish tank?

Answer 1

Some of the best and most liked things with the fish that like to hide in rocks, as well as the cheepest, in my tanks and ponds come from the lake. The big secret here... wash them first.

There's a few people who answered who said you can't put lake rocks in your tank blah blah... well yes don't bring them back home dripping wet and toss them in. Also you don't want to bring home anything that isn't easily cleaned, ones that have holes or things like that it's just to much work.

Take them home and first let them sit outside in the sun for a day or two, turn them over and let them dry out fully. Next take a pot full of water and put them in it, set it on the stove and simply leave it there like your making easter eggs.

Normally just a few minutes is fine but leave them in for ten minutes in a bubbling pot to be 100% sure.

Next drain the water and set the rocks on a counter top to cool (don't put them into the tank that warm) and then once they've cooled off, normally just a few hours, toss them in the tank.

It wont hurt anything and as long as you don't take a truck load of rocks it wont hurt the lake you're taking them from. Personally I've found that the nicest rocks for fish like eels are from lakes as they are smooth and wont cut the fish like most pet store rocks.

Answer 2

Yes you can, but use these tips:

-Rinse all dirt off the rocks with warm water.
-Put them in a pot and boil them for about 10 minutes to remove any harmful bacteria and to make sure you get all the unwanted things off.
-Don't use any soap to clean the rocks, just warm water.
-Don't overcrowd your tank with the rocks
-Keep an eye on your ph level because adding things from nature can affect the ph.

Answer 3

I put the rocks in a big pan and cover with water and boil for 1 hour let cool and wash down real good then put them in the aquarium I have found some really interesting rock for my aquarium and did them this way

Answer 4

the only thank you to correctly known is to correctly known the composition of the rock. Slate is frequently risk-free, iron based rocks are frequently no longer risk-free to illustrate. Limestone can now and back be risk-free counting on in case you techniques greater hardness on your water (good for african cichlids, undesirable for Discus, and so on). some rock would be sharp, that's yet another attention. Boiling, scrubbing, and so on, will purely kill pests and bacteria on the rock, yet won't make all rock risk-free if what the rock is created from isn't risk-free. you're able to do a sprint study on they sort of rock, even taking it to the community college and asking a resident geologist ;)

Answer 5

Absolutely not.. You will contaminate your whole tank. The rocks have microorganisms on them that will fouls a tank within a short period of time. You will lose all your fish. There are so many artificial rocks on the Market now I would think you could find something appropriate that you like.

Answer 6

Rinse them well to remove dirt and loose particles, boil for 15 minutes (no need to do any longer), rinse again with tap water that's been sitting long enough for chlorine to dissapate (8 hours).

Answer 7

leave them for a very long time in boiling water, that will kill the micro-organisms on it, as long as it is hot enough, but any rocks that have dents or holes in them will need to stay in the boiling water a LOT longer

Answer 8

Yes. I think you should put them in really hot (And I mean REALLY hot) water first, to kill the germs. Then you might want to put more hot water. You never know what could've been on that rock.
Hope this helps!=)

Answer 9

ucan as long as youwash them real good thensoak them over night then wash them agian then dry out in sun on a towel

Answer 10

yes but you have to do something to get rid of the bacteria stuff on the rock