Are rocks from my yard safe for my aquarium?

mbixler1537 · Jul 21, 2020

I live in South FL and my in laws have a ton of rock that would work in my tank. It looks much like a piece of ordinary dry rock. Is this safe to put in my tank. I have yet to set the tank up yet and wanted to understand how I could make this rock reef safe if possible

Flippers4pups · Jul 21, 2020

mbixler1537 said:
I live in South FL and my in laws have a ton of rock that would work in my tank. It looks much like a piece of ordinary dry rock. Is this safe to put in my tank. I have yet to set the tank up yet and wanted to understand how I could make this rock reef safe if possible

Pictures?

WVNed · Jul 21, 2020

How much weed killer and bug spray has been put on them over the years?

Flippers4pups · Jul 21, 2020

WVNed said:
How much weed killer and bug spray has been put on them over the years?

Good question.

Biglew11 · Jul 21, 2020

Reef rock is calcium carbonate based. You could take a small piece and put it in vinegar and it should fizz.

Brad Waddell Wrath's Reef · Jul 21, 2020

I live in South Florida and yes the rock you are speaking of is old reef rock. That being said, need to make sure there was no weed killer and other chemicals used. Most of my base rock was from my yard and I had no issues. I did soak in acid, rinse, bleach, rinse and dry for a few weeks before putting in my tank.

mbixler1537 · Jul 21, 2020

I just got it today so I was researching how to clean and for how long.

Brad Waddell Wrath's Reef · Jul 21, 2020

mbixler1537 said:
I just got it today so I was researching how to clean and for how long.

see my post above.

Daniel@R2R · Jul 21, 2020

Definitely some nice pieces. I would imagine that a good acid cleaning will take care of any issues.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2020

I personally would not.
Rock is porous and can absorb pesticides, compost, minerals from soil and other elements which can be lethal.

Brad Waddell Wrath's Reef · Jul 21, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
I personally would not.
Rock is porous and can absorb pesticides, compost, minerals from soil and other elements which can be lethal.

Maybe I was lucky because I had no issues. I can tell you multiple reefers in SoFlo do the same thing.

dzfish17 · Jul 21, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
I personally would not.
Rock is porous and can absorb pesticides, compost, minerals from soil and other elements which can be lethal.

+1... Not worth the risk

Cory · Jul 22, 2020

If it was out in the sun its likely any pesticide would be destroyed by uv.

jreece11 · Jul 22, 2020

A friend of mine dug up some really nice pieces in SFL. I bleach washed it for a week, rinsed, and left in the sun for a couple days.

It’s now my base rock and mixed in with more expensive live rock. After a month you can’t tell the difference. Picture is before coral started going in so you can see the rock better.

mbixler1537 · Jul 22, 2020

This is great info. Thanks to everyone that took the time to give advice.

Softhammer · Jul 22, 2020

I’d use it. To the naysayers, they may not know that Florida “soil” and all of its components sustain reef life just fine. It is old reef life. Google Marco rocks as well. Many would be surprised to know that they probably bought rock already that came from the exact place yours did, the ground in Florida.

Brad Waddell Wrath's Reef · Jul 22, 2020

Softhammer said:
I’d use it. To the naysayers, they may not know that Florida “soil” and all of its components sustain reef life just fine. It is old reef life. Google Marco rocks as well. Many would be surprised to know that they probably bought rock already that came from the exact place yours did, the ground in Florida.

True story lol