# Stones That Are Safe



## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

I read on an old thread that Grogan said to test your rocks with vinegar to see if they are safe for aquarium use or not...But I was curious, if the stone is a polished one, how do you know if its safe or not.
I have an old collection of tigers eye and hematite that I think would be really STRIKING in an aquarium, but I was worried if the polish would effect the test results, or if the polish itself is bad for the water...Obviously, there's no way of knowing what KIND of polish was used, as its a collection from many different places...
SO, has anyone had any issues with polished 'semi-precious' stones like this?


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Polished stones aren't coated with anything, just tumbled with various grades of polishing grit until they're smooth. Marble will dissolve (very slowly) in an aquarium IME, not sure about hematite or tigers eye, it depends on the chemical composition of the rock.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

It's better to use muriatic acid than vinegar for reactivity reasons.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2012)

Question: Could you take out some tank water and put the stones in that to see if anything bad happens? That way you would know if they are safe or not for the water.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Also look up the composition of the stones. Hematite is iron ore, it if were to dissolve in your water, it could raise the iron content in the tank. Good for plants. But copper is bad for fish and especially invertebrates, so skip the malachite. All of the quartz varieties are largely insoluble and fish safe. Anything with carbonate has the potential to raise hardness (which can raise pH), sometimes a good thing, depends on what you keep. 

You probably don't want something that will slowly dissolve anyway, because that would ruin your pretty stone. Skip the gypsum and anything else with a "hydrate" form as it is likely water soluble.

If you think your stones are waxed or oiled, you could run them through the dishwasher, but usually polished stones are just smooth. Taste test: Lick them. lol.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

If using dish washer dont use soap. And rinse thoroughly afterwards. Some scum that is built up in the diswasher will still be in the water. rinse rinse rinse!


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Also look up the composition of the stones. Hematite is iron ore, it if were to dissolve in your water, it could raise the iron content in the tank. Good for plants. But copper is bad for fish and especially invertebrates, so skip the malachite. All of the quartz varieties are largely insoluble and fish safe. Anything with carbonate has the potential to raise hardness (which can raise pH), sometimes a good thing, depends on what you keep.
> 
> You probably don't want something that will slowly dissolve anyway, because that would ruin your pretty stone. Skip the gypsum and anything else with a "hydrate" form as it is likely water soluble.
> 
> If you think your stones are waxed or oiled, you could run them through the dishwasher, but usually polished stones are just smooth. Taste test: Lick them. lol.





grogan said:


> If using dish washer dont use soap. And rinse thoroughly afterwards. Soao scum that is built up in the diswasher will still be in the water. rinse rinse rinse!


In otherwords, pour boiling water on the stone. Same effect and rinse afterwards for residue's would be the best way. After of course you have tested the stone.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

This is a lot of great information guys! Thank you!!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

blindkiller85 said:


> In otherwords, put the stone in a pot and boil the water. Same effect and rinse afterwards for residue's would be the best way. After of course you have tested the stone.


DO NOT DO THIS! You could kill yourself.

Not all rocks are solid all the way through. If they have air/water pockets in them, boiling them could cause them to heat up and explode. It's a very rare occurrence, but its not worth it.

To disinfect rocks, its better to pour boiling water over the top of them. The stuff on the surface gets killed, but the rock does not heat up internally.


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## giggitygiggity (Sep 14, 2011)

bmlbytes said:


> DO NOT DO THIS! You could kill yourself.
> 
> Not all rocks are solid all the way through. If they have air/water pockets in them, boiling them could cause them to heat up and explode. It's a very rare occurrence, but its not worth it.
> 
> To disinfect rocks, its better to pour boiling water over the top of them. The stuff on the surface gets killed, but the rock does not heat up internally.



lol I've seen that. Was at my families house and he had a fireplace outside and he put rocks in it to make it look nice and it looked great and all, until the rocks started exploding lol. It was scary.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Ha, bad way to learn


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

bmlbytes said:


> DO NOT DO THIS! You could kill yourself.
> 
> Not all rocks are solid all the way through. If they have air/water pockets in them, boiling them could cause them to heat up and explode. It's a very rare occurrence, but its not worth it.


Lol. I'm kinda glad that I hadn't really considered boiling them now.


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