# Stones Left in the garden..



## KrishP (20 Jan 2014)

In the back of my garden, I found some mini landscape rocks from one of my old scapes. I gave them a wash and a clean and I was wondering if they can still be used again in an aquarium with shrimp.


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## Crumbs (20 Jan 2014)

May be worth boiling them beforehand, dependent on what type of stone it is of course


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## Dominic (20 Jan 2014)

People collect rocks from outside all the time to use in tanks, so i dont see why not  But yeah like crumbs said it'd be worth boiling them to get rid of anything harmful that may have inhabited/grown on it  May be worth doing the vinegar test too


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## KrishP (21 Jan 2014)

Crumbs said:


> May be worth boiling them beforehand, dependent on what type of stone it is of course


 


Dominic said:


> People collect rocks from outside all the time to use in tanks, so i dont see why not But yeah like crumbs said it'd be worth boiling them to get rid of anything harmful that may have inhabited/grown on it May be worth doing the vinegar test too


 
Thanks for the suggestion, would you just put the rocks in a bucket with boiling water?
Also what is the vinegar test? That's a new one to me!

Forgot to say the rocks are Seiryu Stones


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## tim (21 Jan 2014)

Hi krishp, you can just soak in a bleach/water mixture scrub then soak in a strong dechlorinator solution for 24hours and the rocks should be good to go.


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## dw1305 (21 Jan 2014)

Hi all,





KrishP said:


> I gave them a wash and a clean


 You just need to rinse them in water, any detergents, bleach etc you add to them are going to be much more damaging than anything they've collected in the garden. If you want to boil them that is fine, but it isn't really necessary. 





KrishP said:


> Also what is the vinegar test? That's a new one to me!


 When you add acid (acetic acid in vinegar) to a carbonate rock CO2 is evolved. I think Seiryu stone is a hard limestone (calcium carbonate), so if you have a good scrape at the surface (to produce some rock dust) and add vinegar you should see some little bubbles appear.  Unless you want to keep black-water fish in very soft water, this isn't really  relevant.

cheers Darrel


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## roadmaster (21 Jan 2014)

I seem to alway's have some stones or wood sitting outdoor's on patio and when needed,,I grab a few up ,give em a rinse under hose,and plop em in my tank.
Believe this is very good way to see how many critter's like snail's,shrimp's,oto's,pleco's one might actually have for they all seem to flock to these newly placed rock's, wood,and start noming on them with great vigor.
Some of these critter's, otherwise stay well hidden in my tank's and I seldom see them.


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## KrishP (21 Jan 2014)

I am just being cautious because I want to have CRS in the tank, and I don't want anything killing them off quickly.


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## Kyle Lambert (21 Jan 2014)

Be careful with boiling stones/rocks. They can explode/split/crack. Especially if they were to have an air pocket in the middle of them. Personally i would give them a good scrub with a scouring pad with just plain hot water, not too hot that you cant put your hands in but hot enough for it to be uncomfortable.


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## KrishP (21 Jan 2014)

That's a good point, I going to give them a wash tomorrow and start to arrange them in the tank latter


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## kirk (21 Jan 2014)

KrishP said:


> That's a good point, I going to give them a wash tomorrow and start to arrange them in the tank latter


	sounds good,  I'm waiting to see these stones in situe cheers Kirk.


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## sparkyweasel (22 Jan 2014)

Water and a scrubbing brush should be all you need. If you want to check they are still shrimp-safe after that, put them in a bucket of water with some daphnia or cyclops for a few days. If they have picked up anything that will kill shrimps it's almost certain to kill daphnia too.


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## dw1305 (22 Jan 2014)

Hi all,





sparkyweasel said:


> If you want to check they are still shrimp-safe after that, put them in a bucket of water with some daphnia or cyclops for a few days. If they have picked up anything that will kill shrimps it's almost certain to kill daphnia too.


 Good point,didn't think of that although this "_Daphnia_ bioassay" is the technique I use for testing rain-water.

It is suitable to test for a wide range of potential toxins:
"_The use of a Daphnia magna bioassay for rapid screening of acute intoxications with insecticides in dogs and cats_.":  <The use of a Daphnia magna bioassay for rapid... [Vet Res Commun. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI> & "_Evaluation of water treatment sludges toxicity using the Daphnia bioassay_":< Evaluation of water treatment sludges toxicity using the Daphnia bioassay >.

cheers Darrel


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