Rock Questions

[Supressor]

Hey all, It's been a while since i've posted I know, but anyways, I went to the pembroke marina the otherday and picked up some rocks i'd like for my aquarium. they are all nice and flat so i can stack them, and the reason i'd like to add them is that in my 29 gallon tank, I've yet to come accross babies from my guppies and swordtails no matter how i set up my plants. so i was wondering, what do i have to do with these rocks to make sure tehy are safe for the aquarium. I'm pretty sure they are limestone

[matt]

To see if your rocks will react with your water, you can put a little bit of vinegar on them. If it fizzles, then you know it will react and change your water chemistry. As for ridding them of bacteria you can clean them with bleach and then rince the heck out of them or you can bake them in the oven for a bit to kill off anything living on them ( Allow them to cool overnight before removing them of the oven.)

[PaleoFishGirl]

If it is limestone (and as Matt says, the fizz test will tell you that right away), it will increase the pH and the hardness of your water considerably. Unless you're keeping African cichlids, you might want to look for some shale/slate instead.

[Supressor]

really? dam. will there ever be a point where the limestone will loose its effect on the water chemistry?

[babblefish1960]

When it is completely dissolved.

[beowulf]

When it is completely dissolved.

Indeed which makes them kind of useless at that point.