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Are Riverstones safe to use? I already have some in my tank, so i would like to know if they arent, so that i can change it during my next TANK CHANGE!!!

GobyFan2007

P.S.-If Not safe, should i use Gravel, natural colored gravel, or sand? I have a FW tank and a burrowing Dragon/Violet Goby. (I have a hollow fake driftwood that he sometimes hides in. Should i also supply a PVC tube?)

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Hi,
I'm not sure what you are calling "river stones."
Are they well rounded stones (rounded by the water action
and bouncing along the bottom in a swift stream)? Or, are
they just any old stone that you dug out of the nearest
river?

Two problems with self collecting stones from the
neighborhood. First is the possibility of bringing the
pollution and "creatures" along with the rocks that can
be harmful to the fish. If you can drink directly from
the water, safely (its actually tested by the water
company, and approved) then that would resolve the
possibility of the pollution problem. Cleaning the rocks
carefully, should take care of the "creature" problem.
A good scrubbing should remove eggs, cysts, and other forms
of life from the rocks.
Second, if they are well rounded by water action, then the
chances are that they are safe in that they won't change
the water hardness (GH or KH) and won't change the pH.
If they are just jagged chunks of rocks, then you will have
to test them to see if they are carbonate rocks. If they
are, then they will affect the pH, GH and KH of the water
and would probably not be a good idea. You can test a rock
by scraping the surface of the rock and then dribbling a
few drops of an acid on the freshly exposed surface.
If the liquid bubbles (fizzes) then it is giving off CO2
and chances are it will affect the water. If it just wets
the surface and does not bubble, chances are you can use
the rock in the tank without it affecting the water.
One of the more readily available and safe acids found
in the home is common vinegar and it will show up many
of the carbonate rocks.

Personally, I would stick with the hollow driftwood.
To me, it would look allot nicer than a piece of plastic
pipe in the tank.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thank You so much Frank, i greatly appreciate it. My riverstones are smooth, possibly worn down by water. The only thing im worried about is if the rocks might fall/slip down someday and crush any burrowing fish or worse: the glass

"a penny saved is a penny earned"-unknown source

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That's a concern with any rocks IMO.

How large of a riverstone are we talking about here

I'd thougth that it was the smaller size that many people use for decoration in the bottom of flower vases or around candles, but if they are larger ones then yes, collapsing structures would be a worry.

What I suggest for most any arraingment of stones is to plan how you want them to look in the tank while they're out of the tank, then using aquarium grade silicone just glue them together. Make sure the silicone is completly dry and then submerge in the tank. Aquarium grade silicone is safe for the tank, and won't show. It'll keep the structure from falling if you accidentally nudge it while doing tank maintence. If you have fish that like to burrow under the gravel, it'll keep it from falling on them if they undermine it too much.

^_^

they are the smaller ones used in the flower/candle vases.

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Smaller ones should be just fine then, you'll have more water between them of course since they can't settle as closely together which would make it harder for most all rooting plants. Java fern would be fine with it since it just grabs onto anything.

If you are changing the rocks to gravel, be sure you take the fish out while you work, add the rocks to some fishtank water in a bucket to preserve the bacteria on them, then once everything is settled back in add the rocks either as a decorative tool, or in a mesh bag (media bag or a pair of clean nylon stockings) for a few weeks to help keep your tank from having a minicycle.

I think a few river stones scattered around either larger rocks or some driftwood or even at the base of some plants would look interesting.

^_^

Thanks Babelfish. I have changed my riverstones to gravel and took your advice w/ the used rocks and the minicycle. In fact, my live bearers will give off babies when comfortable, and i made hideouts for the fry already in there. I also am looking foward to buying wisteria(if its a low light plant) or the green plant that has many leave clusters and starts with a B..... the name escapes me. oh well. Oh and 1 more thing, i only added 1.5 inches of gravel, so will that foster plants that have roots? For floating plants i plan to use Anacharis or hornwort. Oh yeah, Anubis is one of my choices. TSame as Java FERN not moss, sprry for any who got confused as i knewno difference...thanks for any reply. I hope to start a log on my tank, maybe not. Im not sure..........

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Also with Riverstone, If you collect it yourself avoid any rocks that have a metallic color in them You don't want to put in a Heavy metal and contaminate it that way.

When I collect the Stones myself I Let them dry for about 3 or 4 weeks, then soak them in boiling water, let the water cool enough to touch it without burning myself then scrub the stones. I rinse them again in boiling water, then another 3 or 4 week dry out period. I have done this for a long time and I have never had a problem with the stones I use.

Hope this helps to.

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My Tanks at Photobucket

For any plant you usually want about 2-3" of substrate for them to dig into. If you've ever noticed the potted plants in a garden shop that are really top heavy they tend to tip over with a slight touch. Terrestrial plants put roots as deep as they are tall, aquatics tend to spread out more but they still want to go down as well.

Good tip on not putting metallic rocks in tanks Logan I know a lot of people have done it because it looks "pretty" !

^_^