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Sandstone. Boiling Enough?

1820 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  hellomyradio, 
H
Hello forums. Long time reader, first time post. :) I've started my tank last week. So far it's the substrate, platies, heater, and filter. I found two decent sized stones outside. I'm not sure the stone exactly. But from my studies online they look to be sandstone..

Question is this. I boiled them for a solid 20-30 minutes. But I'm still worried there may be a reaction. Is there any other per cations I should take before placing them into my tank with the fish? Maybe a soak them in water and check the pH before and again after the rocks are in?

I just don't want to hurt my current progress. :) Any suggestions and help is greatly appreciated.

- Angel
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mistergreen
Welcome.
A picture of the stone might help but if it doesn't fall apart, it should be fine.
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H
Sure thing!


Sorry about the cat-toes. As soon as I placed the stones there, she was all about being in the way. God forbid she get a job and help out around the place. ;)

I digress...
So it doesn't seem to be crumbing. So it should be OK?

-Angel
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chad320
Looks good to me. Id still test your ph before putting them in and a week later to see if youll have a huge swing.
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D
Test them in a bucket before using them in a tank.
Test the water for GH, KH and pH (and TDS if you have a meter) before, then let the rocks soak for a week or two, then test again. If there is almost no change, then these are probably OK in the tank.

They look like there are no significant metal deposits. And, they look firm enough not to fall apart.
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H
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about doing the bucket thing. Only question I have about that is do I want to treat the water like I did the tank? Or wouldn't that matter?

I am supposing any change in the water would be the same in treated or untreated water.
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timwag2001
no need to worry about treating the water unless you are putting fish in it

i wonder how many people thought that rocks couldnt be used because the put water in the bucket and tested it immediately then put the rock in and tested it the next day. not the gh and kh but the ph is definately going to change after the first day just from the co2 from the tap water reaching equilibrium. also i'm sure that the chlorine in the water offgasing would affect the ph as well
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j-gens
ooo be careful boiling rocks they can explode!
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Darkblade48
j-gens said:
ooo be careful boiling rocks they can explode!
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Is that not only an issue when you bake stones?
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Sharkfood
They can explode from steam forming when you heat them with a fire, etc. I've never heard of a stone exploding from boiling. They don't get nearly as hot so there's no superheating the water in the rock. That's not saying for sure that it couldn't happen, but I wouldn't worry about it a bit. Then again, the fact that I'm an idiot has earned me many injuries over the years.
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H
Sharkfood said:
... Then again, the fact that I'm an idiot has earned me many injuries over the years.
Click to expand...
lol Well I'm glad I got lucky. I've boiled a few rocks the past few days. ;D
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chad320
Never, ever, heard of a rock exploding from boiling it.
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H
So, the rocks have been soaking for 3 days. I checked ammonia, pH, Nitrites, Nitrates, Alk', water harness, etc. And nothing has changed. In fact, the water has improved a bit from the other day.

Now.. It's probably the excitement asking. Actually, I know it is. lol. Do you think it's too soon to tell if anything negative would happen? I'm really itching to put something in my tank. It's so bare!

I will wait if you more experienced people think I should, and test in a week. But if I'm in the clear. I would love to place the rocks in their new home.

Thanks for all your help so far, gang. :)

- Angel
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