Are these rocks safe to use?

[mojof1]

I have a small indoor water fountain like thing (kind of like a mountain made of rocks which has water flowing down from the top... sorry can't explain it very well). anyway, we don't use it anymore, so I grabbed 2 pieces of rocks from it. I don't know what kind of rock it is, but I'm hoping I can use it for my aquascape. One piece has some fake plants attached to it which i'm planning to remove. please advise thank you!

[ghotifish]

They look like basalt, which is safe. You can pour some acid on them and see if they fizz. I read an article where Takashi Amano said that the only way to know if a rock is aquarium-safe is to try it out.

[mojof1]

one of the worries that I have is that there are fake plants probably glued to that rock

could the glue dissolve over time and cause harm?

i soaked it in a 10% chlorine solution for 15 min last night hopefullyu that'll kill off the bacteria

[BBradbury]

Hello mo...

The rocks look real enough to me. Soak them in a bucket of your new water change water and add a couple of tablespoons of standard aquarium salt, not table salt. Let the rocks soak for a couple of days. Then, they'll be ready for your tank.

If you're really concerned, then run them through the dishwasher, without soap. The temp will get to around 180 degrees and cook anything out of the surface of the rock that might be harmful. Shouldn't damage the fake plants, though. I kind of like them.

B

[mojof1]

oh crap i just did a water change this morning... didn't save any of the water. and crap i just pulled off one of the fake plant just to see if it's possible this morning.. i guess i'll let the rest be

thx i'll try soaking it in salt water

Originally Posted by BBradbury

Hello mo...

The rocks look real enough to me. Soak them in a bucket of your new water change water and add a couple of tablespoons of standard aquarium salt, not table salt. Let the rocks soak for a couple of days. Then, they'll be ready for your tank.

If you're really concerned, then run them through the dishwasher, without soap. The temp will get to around 180 degrees and cook anything out of the surface of the rock that might be harmful. Shouldn't damage the fake plants, though. I kind of like them.

B

[Miles]

Some acetone should be able to safely get rid of that glue, just be sure to rinse thoroughly after

[The Trigger]

Yeah they look okay. Yeah supposedly if you put APIs pH down on them and they don't fizz, they're fine.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Relevant question: can you just grab some rocks from your backyard and put them in rinsed?

[flight50]

Originally Posted by ThatGuyWithTheFish

Relevant question: can you just grab some rocks from your backyard and put them in rinsed?

You can always add any properly sterilized rock or wood. The problem is will it actually be safe, will it leech or will it change your water perimeters. Do the Mauriac acid test. The vinegar test doesn't work on some things due to the solution being a weaker base than the acid.