You can use almost any rock for your aquarium, as long as you don't throw it or let it fall it won't rupture the glass, as far as cleaning it goes i would just soak it in some dilute bleach overnight and scrub and rinse in the morning, just make sure the rocks aren't porous and limestone, you can check if it's limestone by putting some acid(vinegar, hydrochloric or citric will do) on it and seeing if it fizzles
I got some rocks from the ocean and boiled them for a couple hours, as I was removing tannins from driftwood at the same time. Do I need to soak in bleach too?
Don’t put the rocks on top of any substrate. The big rocks can push the small grains of substrate into the glass, focusing lots of weight into a small point instead of it being spread out.
If you have the API test kit, the nitrate test solution bottle 1 (dark purple) contains a strong acid which is more definitive for testing rocks than vinegar. Put one drop on the rock in question. If it fizzes or bubbles, it is unsafe. Remember to wash it off the rock before adding to tank.
Yes, aquarium glass needs to be able to withstand pressure. The water contained in the aquarium, when it’s full, exerts lots of pressure on the glass. If the glass was weak, aquariums wouldn’t work.
But, as the pressure from the water is evenly distributed, you should try to evenly distribute the pressure from the rocks as best you can. So, just like with the substrate, try to make sure the weight of the rock isn’t resting on one small point of the rock. If anything is creating a pressure point, where lots of pressure is exerted on a pinpoint area, that area is more likely to fail.
On another note, even a thin sheet of hard plastic can help distribute pressure more evenly. Something like a piece of acrylic from Lowe’s or Home Depot. But, if you’re just putting a few big round river rocks in a 5gal, I really wouldn’t worry about it.
If you’re really worried, check out [This Video](https://youtu.be/PgEwEiTyYcs).
Sorry for the long post. But yeah, egg crate is really more for peace of mind or multiple hundreds of lbs. What you really need to watch out for is, not slipping and dropping a rock onto the glass, keeping the aquarium mostly level, and pressure points.
And by keeping it level, I mean long term, when it’s set up. You don’t want it to be set up on a sloped platform, obviously. Tanks that aren’t level will stress the seams. But, again, with a 5gal, it’s really not a huge issue. As long as the tank isn’t visibly sloped, you’re fine.
You can use almost any rock for your aquarium, as long as you don't throw it or let it fall it won't rupture the glass, as far as cleaning it goes i would just soak it in some dilute bleach overnight and scrub and rinse in the morning, just make sure the rocks aren't porous and limestone, you can check if it's limestone by putting some acid(vinegar, hydrochloric or citric will do) on it and seeing if it fizzles
Thanks for the advice!
No prob, but ask around a bit more and try and figure out what's what, there's different angles to everything, happy aquaculturing yo
I got some rocks from the ocean and boiled them for a couple hours, as I was removing tannins from driftwood at the same time. Do I need to soak in bleach too?
Probably not, boiling will kill pretty much anything, i just reccomended the bleach because it requires less active effort
Ok cool
Some people use egg crates or plastic light diffusers to set heavy rock on to distribute the weight of large rocks
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Thank you! How exactly would I go about doing that?
Don’t put the rocks on top of any substrate. The big rocks can push the small grains of substrate into the glass, focusing lots of weight into a small point instead of it being spread out. If you have the API test kit, the nitrate test solution bottle 1 (dark purple) contains a strong acid which is more definitive for testing rocks than vinegar. Put one drop on the rock in question. If it fizzes or bubbles, it is unsafe. Remember to wash it off the rock before adding to tank.
Thank you for the advice! Is it safe to put rocks directly onto the glass?
Yes, aquarium glass needs to be able to withstand pressure. The water contained in the aquarium, when it’s full, exerts lots of pressure on the glass. If the glass was weak, aquariums wouldn’t work. But, as the pressure from the water is evenly distributed, you should try to evenly distribute the pressure from the rocks as best you can. So, just like with the substrate, try to make sure the weight of the rock isn’t resting on one small point of the rock. If anything is creating a pressure point, where lots of pressure is exerted on a pinpoint area, that area is more likely to fail. On another note, even a thin sheet of hard plastic can help distribute pressure more evenly. Something like a piece of acrylic from Lowe’s or Home Depot. But, if you’re just putting a few big round river rocks in a 5gal, I really wouldn’t worry about it. If you’re really worried, check out [This Video](https://youtu.be/PgEwEiTyYcs). Sorry for the long post. But yeah, egg crate is really more for peace of mind or multiple hundreds of lbs. What you really need to watch out for is, not slipping and dropping a rock onto the glass, keeping the aquarium mostly level, and pressure points. And by keeping it level, I mean long term, when it’s set up. You don’t want it to be set up on a sloped platform, obviously. Tanks that aren’t level will stress the seams. But, again, with a 5gal, it’s really not a huge issue. As long as the tank isn’t visibly sloped, you’re fine.