aquaticapinoy Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 (edited) hey guys, over the weekend i went to the elbow river to pick up some rocks for my empty aquarium. i think i saved myself alot of money on decor and personally i think it looks awesome. altho i didn't get enough rocks to fill my tank, ill have to go back and get more when i get a chance again. My fish Tank i picked up as many flat rocks as i could and boiled them for about 1 hour. placed them in my tank and watched the ph levels... i have had the rocks in my tank for about a week now and it looks like i havn't had any issues yet. (note: ive removed my guppies from the tank, and moved them into their own tank) Edited July 15, 2008 by aquaticapinoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Those rocks look great, much better than that pre-made marbel tower on the right-hand side. If you replace that tower with more rocks it will look great! And may I suggest switching the coloured gravel with a more natural brown, or sand perhaps? You can get play sand for very cheap (I just bought a 55 lb. bag for $5). Cheers, Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I did something similar, I live near a small town called Radway, we live on 80 acres I have several neighbors that have picked rocks out of their crop land and I found some of the most awesome flat rocks, no rounded edges at all, it took all of 5 minutes too. Not only that we live near the sand hills, so I grabbed my sand from there, if you dont wash it first your tank gets cloudy for a few days, but it clears up and looks wonderful, best part is it is cheap! FREE!!! that is my kind of cheap... Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaticapinoy Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 thanks guys, ive added more fake plants in there too to add ... i can't wait to go to the river again and pick up more rock so i can get rid of that marble on the right.. or maybe even pick up some drift wood.. that would be nice too!! i'll keep this thread updated! this hobby is soo addictive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 River rocks are the best and now expense. Another place you can get some great rocks from is the glenmore resevoire. I got many of mine from there as well. I don't think you have to boil them for up to an hour. Usually within the first few minutes of boiling all the bacteria is killed. I would try only leaving them in for 5 minutes, that should be sufficient. I know these little tricks from having to sterilize baby stuff like bottles and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobies et al Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 River rocks are the best and now expense. Another place you can get some great rocks from is the glenmore resevoire. I got many of mine from there as well. I don't think you have to boil them for up to an hour. Usually within the first few minutes of boiling all the bacteria is killed. I would try only leaving them in for 5 minutes, that should be sufficient. I know these little tricks from having to sterilize baby stuff like bottles and such. In my microbiology course, it was a minimum of 20 minutes in boiling water to sterilize objects. That is why Autoclaves are used, and to use higher temperatures as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 Oh really? I never knew that. Of course I never took science to that extreme before either. I have always just boiled my river rocks for 5 minutes and haven't had a problem yet. But I guess to be on the safe side, 20-30 minutes should do fine. I was just also thinking of the fact that boiling for an hour would cause all the water to be lost into the air, wouldn't it? unless you use a lid, then the steam would stay in the pot. I have accidently left eggs boiling on the stove before and basically burned the water from leaving it too long lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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