Can I use this rock?

I have found some nice looking rocks at s nearby creek. They look kind of metallic.

Does anyone know if these could have anything dangerous to the fish that could leech out into the water?

The top one is petrified wood. I believe that one is safe. Just a little concerned about the other.




Here are some of the others and a piece of wood.

 

just an idea maybe soak it in water for awhile and then test the water?

 

just an idea maybe soak it in water for awhile and then test the water?

Test for what? It's the metallic that I am concerned about.

 

just an idea, I'm new to all this

 

just an idea, I'm new to all this

I get ya! I am not new to fish tanks, but have a lot of fake looking deco so trying to naturalize. I am new to aquascaping.

 

Test for what? It's the metallic that I am concerned about.

This is a good idea- you can test for metallic contamination in water, though as far as I know it's not likely that the metallic sheen does actually come from metal in the rock, few metals occur naturally in their pure form. It more probably comes from some kind of silica compound (again, AFAIK). You may have to look online for a kit to do so though.

 

Tested with muratic acid today and all of these are good. YAY!







Now to figure out which tanks and how to aquascape them......

 

did you polish the ones in pic 2?

ive never seen any rocks that color or that bright!
drool

 

did you polish the ones in pic 2?

ive never seen any rocks that color or that bright!
drool

No. Someone gave them to me like that.

I think I am going to use them in my 20 long where I have electric blue Rams, rummynose, and kuhlI loaches. After I add black sand. Maybe......

 

Oh, I almost forgot about the small rocks, petrified wood, and driftwood piece found at the creek. And I bought a nice piece of spider wood at lfs.
I will be busy scaping my tanks for a while, lol.

 

No. Someone gave them to me like that.

if someone gave those to you id bet they are polished (run through a tumbler) and I wouldnt use them since tumblers often have chems added to help the tumbling process.
look up pics of "rocks polished by tumbler" and you'll know what I mean.

 

The abrasives can be rinsed off. A coating would be the more worrisome thing.

 

The abrasives can be rinsed off. A coating would be the more worrisome thing.

Does not seem to be a coating and I washed them really good.

 

They should be fine. Polishing also had the benefit of decreasing surface area as well so if something in the rock that could leech out, it will take a much longer time to do so.

I really like that red and tan one!

 

Hey everyone. Does this seem like lava rock to you? Can I use it in a sump filter?





It's got lots of tiny pores idk if you can see em clearly in the picture.
Thanks

 

You'll probably be fine in a freshwater tank, but if you don't know what it is, you probably shouldn't use it. A lot of rocks can leach stuff into your water than can mess with your parameters. Lava rock is so cheap anyway its just not worth the risk

 

definitely looks like it and usable.

 

Is lava rock supposed to fizz with vinegar? Cuz this one did :/
It's just that I've bought a lot of this stuff from a garden supplies place and I was hoping for it to be lava rock

 

Nope. Vulcanis rock doesn't cointain chalc / calcium.

 

Nope. Vulcanis rock doesn't cointain chalc / calcium.

Idk. I googled and read that it does fizz cuz the vinegar displaces the air pockets in the stone.
Anyway,if I'm still not sure in the end,I think I'd better fill the sump with ceramic media and plastic pot scrubbies..

 

If it fizzes with vinegar that is the acidity of vinegar reacting with a carbonate in the rock. Definitely not a lava rock. Highly likely to effect parameters. Stick it in a bucket of tank water, with water movement if you can and test the parameters. Using an unknown rock also comes with the risk of leeching other minerals such as copper which could be very bad for some fish and invertebrates. Lava rock is dirt cheap.

 

Lava rock, at least the stuff around here is black, not a light brown. Now, we do have some rocks like that around here that cover the dry lake bed (been dry for a many number of years) Honestly not sure what it is, but I don't think this is a lava rock, unless it's possibly been dyed? I know they do that sometimes at these pet/garden stores. I never trust dyed rock, always see it leaching the dye into the water. Sorry I couldn't be more help! I'd suggest boiling it, see what happens. test the water you boiled it in and see if it leached out some color or other minerals. Rocks generally will contain some living beings in it anyhow and it's best to kill them off.

 

It looks like oceanic,
that's live rock in my reef tank.

 

It looks like oceanic, View attachment 320494 that's live rock in my reef tank.

Where did you get this?? A pet store? Or a garden supplier?

 

No I got it second hand, so I couldn't tell you exact facts just posted it to show it in my tank for you because it looks so similar.

 

Lava rock, at least the stuff around here is black, not a light brown. Now, we do have some rocks like that around here that cover the dry lake bed (been dry for a many number of years) Honestly not sure what it is, but I don't think this is a lava rock, unless it's possibly been dyed? I know they do that sometimes at these pet/garden stores. I never trust dyed rock, always see it leaching the dye into the water. Sorry I couldn't be more help! I'd suggest boiling it, see what happens. test the water you boiled it in and see if it leached out some color or other minerals. Rocks generally will contain some living beings in it anyhow and it's best to kill them off.

These are the lava rocks that I used years and years in my tanks. They are all brownish / reddish and perfectly usable.

 

These are the lava rocks that I used years and years in my tanks. They are all brownish / reddish and perfectly usable. View attachment 320504

Maybe different areas, and the color changes? I'm no rock expert by far! lol I just know the stuff I get from the burnt out volcanos here is black as coal, sometimes has a bit of brown or off color to it. But it's primarily black, and yes, yours looks more along the line of what we have out here as well. But Danelch's honestly seems more like reef rock to me now that I'm thinking of it.