A lot of new fish tank owners wonder if he or she can begin using back yard gravel for their own fish tanks, because this is a controversial topic among various owners, you will frequently see a mix of answers to this concern, but who is correct. Well it all depends on what types of gravel/rocks you are using and the way you are going to clean them.
The reason why certain kinds of gravel/rocks can be bad for your fish tank is that they can cause a change in the pH level and hardness of the tank water, a number of these involve:
€ Chalk
€ Marble
€ Geodes
€ Dolomite
€ Shells and Crushed coral
€ Limestone
€ Tufa
These rocks will radically raise the hardness of the water due to the fact they include a substantial amount of calcium, which can be damaging for your fish. So you should not use these as ornaments in your tank. If you are not certain that the gravel/rocks that you would like to put in your tank contain calcium then you could test them by putting a few drops of vinegar on top of the gravel/rock,if it fizzes or foams then you shouldn't use this rock simply because it contains calcium deposits.
You can also test the gravel or rocks by putting them into a bucket with the same water that you use inside of your aquarium, after that test the pH level as well as hardness of the water, let it rest for a week and then test it again, if you discover that there's a considerable difference to the pH level along with the hardness of the water you will not want to use these because they will most likely lead to further problems.
This doesn't mean however that all rocks are dangerous to your tank, some safe rocks that you can use for your tank include:
€ Flint
€ Slate
€ Basalt
€ Granite
€ Sandstone
€ Quartz
It is possible to gather these rocks from an anywhere, however when you are collecting rocks for your tank you might want to know that you do not know what the rocks have come in contact with, this could be anything from rocks that happen to be gathered from fields having pesticide residue on them, to rocks found in the backyard having traces of weed killer on them.
The best place to collect rocks would be near a healthy body of water such as a clear stream, river, or shore. These are great places to find rocks simply because the rocks that you will find in these places will have already been soaked and would have their toxins removed.
Even though these rocks will be safer for your fish then the rocks that include calcium deposits, you should make sure that they do not contain any water based issues such as parasites, algae's or any other diseases. This can be done by giving the rocks a thorough wash, if you want to be even more thorough then you can give them a quick boil.
Make sure that you avoid any rocks which have any lines, colours or veins since these might be metal ores that might be toxic to your fish. Also avoid natural lava rocks because they also very often contain large amounts of metals and toxins, with that said the only expectation will be quartz veins that will be white in colour.
Remember when collecting rocks you'll always what to ensure that they do not have sharp points because this might cut the fish.