River rocks?

[busdriver]

Is there any problem using rocks from the shore of the Ottawa river for my large aquariums?
What would I have to do to clean them?

[beowulf]

You would likely have to make sure you are not getting rocks that will change your pH in a way you don't want.  I would probably boil them or clean with with some bleach to kill anything nasty on them.

[PaleoFishGirl]

Most of those rocks will be limestone.  You don't really want to put that in your tank, it will change your water parameters.

[bitterman]

Terry if you are doing an African cichlid tank limestone is prefectly fine and will help buffer your tank so the ph does not crash

[beowulf]

Most of those rocks will be limestone.  You don't really want to put that in your tank, it will change your water parameters.

Which is what I was thinking since he said he was going discus.  Unless he added enough peat and bogwood to counter the effects...

[PoisonJello]

to clean rocks just scrub them good with a brush to get any dirt off, then bake or boil them
Bake about 40 minutes at 400 and let cool in the oven
Boil for about 30 minutes and let cool
then they will be ready to use

if you are really worried about them having some type of chemicals on them, then you could wash them with 1 part bleach to 7 part water i think would be good but make sure you wash them throughly before you bake or boil just to get all the bleach off

some rocks do change the parameters of the water so if your worried about that happening just make sure and test your water a couple times over the next few weeks to see if any major changes have happened to your water

[artw]

One of my self-motivated co-workers at Aquarium Services spent the majority of yesterday re-organizing our selection of Gravel.  since I was assisting him from time to time, I am happy to report we have a large selection of various river gravels,  Inert, they will not change your chemistry,  and for the low price of  $25.99 for a 25 pound bag. I think. it may be $29.99.

so come by the store and check em out!   that's Big Als, at 1900 Innes Road.

[kennyman]

If you find red, white or black rounded rocks you likely have no worries. There are billions of tons of river rock around deposited by outwash from glaciers. The grey stuff can be iffy but usually limestone gets a very rough pitted surface from water action and is noticeable.

It is still pretty early yet but many of the landscape construction supply places will have a ton or so laying around from last season. Things are starting to stir at those places this week. All I have ever done with rock is scrub it with a brush in the laundrytub or a bucket and place it in the tank. I have tested some rock for composition using the Acid found in my AP master test kit  

I think of river rock and pea gravel as separate items since, well as a landscaper if you got them confused you wouldn't be a landscaper now would you? So I'm thinking riverock as the 1"-4" sized rock rounded by natural water movement. Pea Gravel is useally 1/2" and down 

[dpatte]

leave in a pail for 24 hours with 1 part javex to 8 parts water.
next day emoty the pail and refill with clear water
repeat rinse for three days - ready

i use rock from the ottawa river in some of my tanks

[busdriver]

leave in a pail for 24 hours with 1 part javex to 8 parts water.
next day emoty the pail and refill with clear water
repeat rinse for three days - ready

i use rock from the ottawa river in some of my tanks

Any particular place where you get the rocks? I was thinking I would go near the Champlain Bridge on the Quebec side, lower road to Aylmer.

[dpatte]

i picked up alot from near the the brittania water filtration plant.

[PaleoFishGirl]

Any particular place where you get the rocks? I was thinking I would go near the Champlain Bridge on the Quebec side, lower road to Aylmer.

You might want to check around before you go there - part of that site includes a protected area of stromatolite fossils.

[repeej]

All my rocks are from the shores of the Ottawa river.  They are all roundish river rocks...not limestone.

Scrub and rinse then bake for about 30-45 minutes at 350-375F.

[artw]

bake them why? I used hundreds of pounds of those rocks when I bred Malawis, all I did was scrub them a bit.. no problems

but I suppose its good preventitive maintenance if you like wasting electricity.

[hamstercaster]

It's a bit early for rock picking along the Ottawa River me thinks    However, not to take any business away from SP, Big Al's or whatever but you can get some river gravel at many plant nurseries (pépinières) for about half or 1/3 of the price.  It's up to you to know if it would affect ph though but it is a much less costly alternative provided you don't mind your gravel being a bit bigger I guess.

[repeej]

bake them why? I used hundreds of pounds of those rocks when I bred Malawis, all I did was scrub them a bit.. no problems

but I suppose its good preventitive maintenance if you like wasting electricity.

Pretty sure you can google the benefits of baking or boiling rocks before introducing them to your aquarium.  but make it quick and then turn off your computer....you're wasting electricity.

leave it up to the granola-munching, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing tree huggers to lecture us on electricity consumption. 

[artw]

funny, I don't like granola, don't own Birkenstocks and don't drive a Prius.  I haven't listened to Lowell Green for awhile, thanks for reminding me of his lines.

[normc]

What's a Prius   I have used river rock it was a reddish quartz. I modified it with a sledge hammer washed it off and put it in my tank. No problems

[beowulf]

Prius is a hybrid car from Toyota.

[busdriver]

bake them why? I used hundreds of pounds of those rocks when I bred Malawis, all I did was scrub them a bit.. no problems

but I suppose its good preventitive maintenance if you like wasting electricity.

My stove is gas