Intrinsicat Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I have a pretty decent sized rock collection from tumbling rocks smooth with my dad as a kid... id love to use them interspersed with gravel - but with the muriatic acid test work on tumbled rocks? I don’t have the betta for this tank yet - just starting it up so I have time to do ph testing as well. Any suggestions or should I just shelve the rock collection again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I wouldn't be afraid to using any of those rocks. I don't know how I know that, but they all are crystallinish, metamorphicish, just look unreactive to me. Definitely no limestone there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intrinsicat Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 (edited) Thanks again! Great to hear. Yeah no limestone in the collection - a few fossils but those never went through the tumbler so I wouldn’t use anyway - just smooth stones for the betta fins. I’ll still let them all sit in a fishless tank for a while and see how ph goes Edited July 19, 2020 by Intrinsicat Misspelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestJenn Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 I wondered about this too. We have a tumbler that we haven't used yet, so I'm not super familiar with the process. But I thought there was a "polishing" step at the end. The more I read, the more it appears that polishing is just a final tumble with a very fine grit. One thing I would check is to make sure that there is not a chemical polish or lacquer, but even then it appears that washing in hot water might take care of that. Hmmm, a new rabbit hole to delve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 You can always test a rock by immersing it in vinegar, if it bubbles, it has some calcium or minerals in it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted July 20, 2020 Administrators Share Posted July 20, 2020 For the most part, I've never run into a rock that was actually a problem. I'm sure it could happen, but over all the customers and myself over many years. I've never seen it happen personally. I'm sure someone out there has a bad experience. But seems to be pretty infrequent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intrinsicat Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 Yes it’s just a final smoothing cycle as I recall. There is no lacquer on the rocks. Thanks for all the helpful answers. I’m feeling pretty good about them, but there are a lot so I might just pour an inch of vinegar from the giant jug in the garage and see if any bubble... In case anyone wants to play a game - here is the rest of ‘em, ignoring all the ordinary quartz and river rock. If there are any rock aficionados who want to tell me “Not THAT ONE!” 😄 I’ll likely not put all of them over the substrate but definitely the unique ones. Thanks everyone! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 On 7/19/2020 at 11:30 AM, Intrinsicat said: I have a pretty decent sized rock collection from tumbling rocks smooth with my dad as a kid... id love to use them interspersed with gravel - but with the muriatic acid test work on tumbled rocks? I don’t have the betta for this tank yet - just starting it up so I have time to do ph testing as well. Any suggestions or should I just shelve the rock collection again? Those are very cool. You should post some pics after you set the tank up id love to see how it turns out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 I'm drooling a little... I would actually love the look of an aquarium with this as the substrate! but I really love rocks 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, Intrinsicat said: Yes it’s just a final smoothing cycle as I recall. There is no lacquer on the rocks. Thanks for all the helpful answers. I’m feeling pretty good about them, but there are a lot so I might just pour an inch of vinegar from the giant jug in the garage and see if any bubble... In case anyone wants to play a game - here is the rest of ‘em, ignoring all the ordinary quartz and river rock. If there are any rock aficionados who want to tell me “Not THAT ONE!” 😄 I’ll likely not put all of them over the substrate but definitely the unique ones. Thanks everyone! Edited July 21, 2020 by Maria sorry, this was supposed to go with the above post! haven't quite figured it all out yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alesha Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Ah...I have a collection of rocks from my dad too. Sweet memories! I may have to pull those out soon. 😍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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