Rock

[prettyeeyoregir]

Would rock from a sea wall that's dead be okay to put in our tank?

[MelbaToasty]

I am fairly new to the hobby, but I did a lot of research before entering. Dead rock from your sea wall will be high risk for parasites. I learned that you should sterilize dead objects from the beach (or your sea wall) before adding them to your tank. I boil sea shells for 10 minutes before adding them to my tank.

[prettyeeyoregir]

i got some pretty good size rocks is there another way to sterilize them?

[Scuba_Steve]

What type of parasites could survive when introduced to salt water? Anything that was alive should be dead. Anything that has grown since should die when introduced to salt...

[scottsdale454ss]

Ive never seen a sea wall, but i would imagine that rock is pretty dense no? You could just boil them in water for awhile to sterilize them

[MelbaToasty]

Scuba Steve, you have clearly been doing this longer than me. As I said, I am relatively new to the hobby. I live on the water in a gulf state and was told not to introduce things I find in the gulf to my tank. Perhaps this is just a local warning.

[scottsdale454ss]

Originally Posted by scottsdale454ss

Ive never seen a sea wall, but i would imagine that rock is pretty dense no? You could just boil them in water for awhile to sterilize them

This guy has problems reading sometimes.... I have no idea how else to sterilize them (if you in fact need to) How big are these rocks? and how big is your tank?

[steelhead77]

I would not put any rock from a sea wall in my tank.

For one - it's probably pretty dense rock. The rock you want for your tank is going to be light and very porous - much better for beneficial critters to grow.

For two - it's gonna look like rock from a sea wall - not from a coral reef. You probably want to mimic a natural coral reef in your tank, not a man made sea wall.

For three - you have no idea what could be on that rock. Much better to obtain rock that has been in a tank for awhile. Unless you are prepared to "cook" that rock for a long time in order for it to become "live" (doubtful because of density) - I wouldn't hassle with it, it's not worth it.

[aleonn]

I would worry about unknown chemicals and toxins leaching into my tank from the sea wall or any other rocks from the sea.

[prettyeeyoregir]

some of the rock is porous i pored water on the rock and it soaked into the rock (i heard thats a good thing) am i wrong? i dont want to kill my fish i dont have money to buy as much rock as i need. nothing is on the rock no algea or animals. i have the rocks sitting in a plastic bin with fresh water over them and a power head pushing water in there. thanks everyone for all your comments

[prettyeeyoregir]

i have a 55 gallon tank. i picked up 65 lbs of rock at the beach.

[john32]

Just by base rock that way you don't take a chance, I put some Rock that I was not sure about in a freshwater tank and ended up with dead fish.

[RcToners]

Originally Posted by prettyeeyoregir

i have a 55 gallon tank. i picked up 65 lbs of rock at the beach.

Lets start with the basics,

1. Its illegal where you are located to take rock, you are allowed to only take 1 inch of rock when collecting. For example, you are allowed to take 6 polyips of zoanthids so if you found some zoas you would be only allowed to take one inch of the rock they are attatched to.

2. Its illegal, if the fish and game had seen what you were doing you would have spent the night in jail and woke up with a huge fine.

3. There are Cirolanid Isopods, these are commonly found close to shore and are very very bad for your fish. These little buggers can survive out of the water for very long periods of time and can also survive in fresh water for very long periods of time. If you introduce these to your tank you could just about kiss all your fish good by.

4. I doubt your going to take the rock back and I assume what is done is done. Please stop taking things from the ocean that you are not allowed to. The fish and game allows peopel to take certian things in moderation as long as you have a slatwater fishing license, stick to these things and your tank will end up being much happier.

[prettyeeyoregir]

oh my i didnt know it was illegal to take the rock!!!!!!!!

[prettyeeyoregir]

i am going to take back the rock. i feel so bad

[scottsdale454ss]

somehow i doubt they would arrest you for taking sea wall rocks, taking live rock from a reef would be a different story. But its better to go with base rock anyway, just buy them one peice at a time.

[cdeboard]

Hit craigslist or your local LFS. I see a lot of LFS sell dry base rock for $1 a pound. Can even find better deals on craigslist sometimes.

[RcToners]

Originally Posted by scottsdale454ss

somehow i doubt they would arrest you for taking sea wall rocks, taking live rock from a reef would be a different story. But its better to go with base rock anyway, just buy them one peice at a time.

You keep telling yourself that. The FWC in florida are no joke and you will be arrested and prosecuted for just about anything that involves the ocean here. I can just about gaurentee you had the FWC found that rock in his or her car an arrest would have followed shortly.

[eric@tampa]

Yep they busted my cousin for that...I told him not to but nooooooooooooo.even impounded his truck,these people don't play.

[prettyeeyoregir]

i took the rock back thank you for all of your help. i am sorry if i upset anyone i did not know. the rock is all back where i got it from.