Decorating your at-home aquarium is the best part of creating a home for your underwater friends. We all want a unique looking aquarium to catch our friends and family’s attention. But buying certain pieces to put inside your aquarium can be expensive. You already probably spent a lot of money on the tank and fish and are looking for ways to decorate it without breaking the bank.
Well, river rocks can be your saving grace. But you need to be careful about what you are putting inside your aquarium. There could be bacteria buildup, algae, and other harmful things on the river rocks that can hurt your fish. These dangerous things can also alter your aquarium water, which will also hurt your fish. You need to be sure that you are adding clean, harmless rocks, gravel, or stone to your aquarium. Here are some ways you can clean your river rocks, so they are safe for your aquarium.
Outdoor Gravel or Rocks for your Aquarium
Giving your aquarium some charm of hand-picked rocks to cover the bottom of your tank is a great way to make your aquarium your own style. This can be a tedious task, in which you will need to gather a lot of stones or gravel to have enough to use for your tank. Some of the rocks may not be useable. Rather than going with stones from a pet store, if you clean them right, local river rocks are free and prettier.
However, using your own gravel or rocks can be risky. You need to test the rocks before you use them. The different rocks compositions could possibly change the hardness and pH of the water. This will result in hurting your fish.
Many people say unless you have some sort of knowledge of rock composition, you shouldn’t be using river rocks. They are not safe for your fish. Others say if you follow strict instructions on how to clean these rocks and gravel, then you can use them.
How to Test your River Rocks
The major concern of using river rocks in your own aquatic environment can be that they contain calcium. This can alter the pH of your aquarium water. Before even getting that far, you need to clean your rocks and gravel to ensure that there is no grit left behind or contaminants.
After cleaning your rocks thoroughly, you can start testing for any contaminants of calcium. It is simple as placing a few drops of vinegar on the rock or gravel that you’ve gathered. If the vinegar starts to fizz or foam on the rock, you can’t use it. The chemical reaction that you are witnessing indicates that the stone contains calcium.
There are other ways to test your rocks and gravel for calcium or other minerals that can cause harm to your fish friends. After cleaning the rocks and gravel, place them in a bucket, fully submerged in a small amount of water that would be suitable for your aquarium. Test your pH levels and hardness initially; then, let the rocks and aquarium water sit for a week and test again. If there is a big increase, the rocks or gravel can not be used and will cause problems in your aquarium.
Rocks that Should be Avoided
If you can identify the rocks when gathering them, then it is better to know what to avoid. You want to avoid rocks that have high levels of calcium and any sharp-edged rocks that can harm your fish. The list of rocks to avoid follows:
- Shells, or crushed coral. These are not ideal rocks to use for freshwater tanks but could be used for African cichlid tanks where the high pH and calcium hardness is desirable.
- Limestone
- Geodes
- Marble
- Dolomite
Rocks that are Safe to use in your Aquarium
- Granite
- Quartz
- Slate
- Lava rock; be sure to remove the sharp edges if you can.
- Onyx and ground glass
- Sandstone; be sure to test before using it, it can contain limestone sometimes.
Where to Find Outdoor Rocks
You want to try the ocean beaches and lakefronts to search for rocks or gravel. Search in dry beds, or along the banks of streams and rivers. Try to avoid any stones or rocks underwater, especially in protected areas. Removing these rocks can disturb native habitats that wild fish depend on.
Of course, use some common sense when it comes to gathering your own rocks for your aquarium. Such as, stay away from polluted areas. You may be able to remove the toxins, but there is a risk is you won’t and could harm your fish. Also, you want to stay away from any rocks that crumble easily. It could make a mess of your aquarium.
Lastly, you want to be sure that the rocks you have chosen, don’t contain any metal. You need to inspect each rock that your selection for any veins of metal or rust. These rocks can be deadly towards your fish and should be avoided entirely.
There are a few alternatives to purchase outdoor rocks, stones, or gravel. Here are a few ideas for you:
- Landscape companies sell smooth rive rock and other aggregates.
- Garden centers and nurseries.
- Home improvement stores with gardening departments.
These sources offer inexpensive and attractive rocks and gravel. You have to remember to take care in making your selections and always test the rocks or gravel before using them.
How to Clean your River Rocks
Using natural river rocks is a great way to decorate and give your own twist to your at-home aquarium. However, it can be harmful to your fish if not cleaned correctly. They can contain different harmful bacteria and other germs. Here is a simple way to clean your rocks.
Step 1:
Start by scrubbing your rocks with a stiff-bristled brush and 1 tablespoon of antibacterial soap added to warm water. Be sure that you focus on little nooks and crannies on the rock.
Step 2:
Rinse your rocks with plain water and soak them overnight in non-iodized saltwater. Add 1 cup of sea salt to every gallon of water you use.
Step 3:
Remove your rocks from the saltwater the following day and rinse thoroughly.
Step 4:
Prepare a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Scrub the rocks’ surfaces and allow the rocks to sit in the solution for 30 minutes. Rinse with plain water.
Step 5:
Place your rocks in an aluminum non coated pit and fill with water.
Step 6:
Bring the water to a full boil and allow the rocks to boil for at least 30 minutes to sanitize and remove any leftover bleach residue. You want to be conscious when boiling your rocks. There may be pockets of gas prone to explosion. If the rocks are craggy instead of smooth, you may want to pour the boiling water directly over those rocks instead of boiling them on the stove.
Step 7:
Finally, rinse the rocks with clean water and soak them for 24 hours in plain tap water before adding them to your aquarium.
How to Add your River Rocks to your Aquarium
Now that you have declared your rocks calcium-free, and cleaned, you are ready to add them to your aquarium. But you can’t just throw them in and hope for the best. You won’t run into problems if you place them in your tank substrate.
A major mistake most people make is piling them against the glass. Since we all know rocks can be heavy, and aquarium glass is really not as strong, when you pile rocks against the glass you are risking cracking the glass of your tank. Your rocks should be piled away from the glass in safe piles.
Make sure that your rocks are always secured. You don’t want to pile rocks against or on top of each other and not ensure that they are secured. We all have that one over-excited fish that could possibly make the rocks come tumbling down. You could risk a fish getting crushed or the glass of your rank becoming broken, which could result in a big mess and a lot of dead fish.
It is recommended to use silicone aquarium glue to secure your rocks together and to the rank itself. With this silicone glue, you can create caves for your fish to hide in and other creative structures for your fish. Be sure to use non-toxic silicone so you don’t harm your fishy friends.
Other Items to put in your Aquarium
There are a bunch of different other things that you can put in your aquarium to make it look a lot cooler, other than river rocks. Yes, there are ways to lay your rocks against each other to create structures or small caves, but why not add other things to your creative layouts. Here are a few things you can put in your tank.
Driftwood
Driftwood is a very popular way to decorate your tank. Because of if its natural look, it can give your aquarium some charm. You can find driftwood at the bottom of a lake, or along rivers and streams. Of course, you can buy it in any pet shop, but if you are looking for the cheaper route, you can find a piece of it out in nature.
Artificial Plants
Another popular decoration and cheaper than real plants as decoration. These are easy to keep alive and you can get artificial pants in different shapes and sizes. Acritical plants are mostly used to hide different items like tubing or heaters.
Ceramics
Any object that is produced to be dinnerware safe is safe for your aquarium as a decoration. How to find out if your ceramics are safe, you want to take vinegar and submerge the ceramics and wait. After a month, you want to examine the glaze on the object and compare it. If the shininess has decomposed, the decoration will be okay for your aquarium.
Cleaning your Aquarium Decorations
There comes a time with every owner of an aquarium, where everything needs to be cleaned. Over time, you will notice brown stops, or green algae growing on your decorations. This means it time to take it out and clean your decorations.
To clean your decorations, start by letting them run over running water. Then, fill your sink with hot water and let them soak for a little while. The hot water will break up the gunk stick to your decorations. You want to give them one last washing with warm water before placing them back into the aquarium.
Be sure never to use soap to clean your decorations, it can cause harm to your fish if you leave any residue behind. Of course, this is not an easy chore when owning a tank, but it is worth it when you have fishy friends like yours.
Conclusion
River rocks are great items to use to decorate your aquarium. But you want to be sure that you are using the right type of rocks, that you are cleaning them correctly, and that you are placing them correctly into your rank to ensure that they are secure.
When owning a tank, your job is to keep your fish safe and happy. Of course, you want to like the look of your tank as well, but you never want to risk your fish, just because there is a pretty rock that you want to use. It is not worth it. Fish are expensive and you don’t want to endanger your friends.
Adding natural items to your tank gives off a certain charm. It can save you money, and you can be as creative as you want when you find your own decorations in nature. The tips and tricks above are great to get you started on creating your own little habitat for your friends. Just be sure that you are cleaning your rocks correctly before adding them to your tank.