Use of rocks in your aquarium

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by PappaBear, Feb 1, 2012.

  1. PappaBear

    PappaBear

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    Good morning!

    Couple of questions regarding the use of rocks in your aquarium. If you wish to maintain a low pH, how do you know a rock you want to use is "safe", in the sense it won't affect your pH? As far as I know you must pour an acid on it, if it makes bubbles, it will lift your pH. Am I correct in saying this? If yes, is vinegar a strong enough acid to test this effectively?

    Secondly: What cleaning procedures must you follow before adding rocks to your tank?

    Thanks a million!
     
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  3. HeinrichvH

    HeinrichvH

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    The owner at my local fish shop said that one could use vinegar to test it.
    You can also use sera ph minus I think. Not shure on the ph minus
     
  4. azurekoi

    azurekoi Loaches & Gobies

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    Vinegar works...but I have always used a drop of pool acid for this test. Much easier to see if a reaction takes place. As for cleaning... I just tackle them with a scrubbing brush and water - never been much of a "Rock boiler"...lol
     
  5. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    The vinegar test is a good indication, but not conclusive. There are types of rock that release carbonates very slowly into the water and that don't fizz immediately with vinegar.

    A more accurate way would be to find out exactly what type of rock it is that you want to use. And then do some research into the composition etc of the rock itself.
     
  6. oscar freak

    oscar freak

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    i'v got some white boulders i picked up on the beach in swakopmund i want to use in my blackwater setup will try this vinegar thing today
     
  7. OP
    PappaBear

    PappaBear

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    How did this work out for you oscar freak? I saw some nice boulders / large pebbles on the beach at Strand the weekend... forgot to take some home....

    How would beach and river stones be bacterial wise?
     
  8. oscar freak

    oscar freak

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    havent had a chance been busy testing everything else will do it today
     
  9. K.C

    K.C

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    @PappaBear - Some good old pool acid will give you a much better reaction with the calcium in the rock. Common household white vinegar (well the vinegar I tested) only contained about 5% acetic acid so its actually pretty weak when your'e talking about acids. Why don't you soak your rocks in a bucket of water and monitor the pH over a period of a week or two. This should give you a pretty good indication on how the rocks will affect your system's pH. For your question on bacteria, if you want to be sure there are no little micro-organisms there to mess with your fish just give it a good boil.. think about it.. UHT milk is processed at 121.1[SUP]o[/SUP]C and that stuff is sterile!! You wont be able to reach that temp at home but 100[SUP]o[/SUP]C should kill pretty much anything on the rock except for thermophiles (organisms that can withstand extreme temperatures). HTH!!
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2012

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