Hi there,

I was wondering is it safe to use large rocks from the beach to use in my tank? i have 2 large blue dolphins, yellow lab, sailfin pleco, upside down catfish and another catfish i am unsure of his name.

I live opposite a beach on the south coast of england and the rocks over there are ideal for using in my tank but i do worry about the salt or any other nasty's on them.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is the best way to clean them etc.. and wether they would be safe to use?

Many thanks
emily

personally I would not use beach rocks as they could be contaminated from shipping,also if you are caught removing them you are liable to prosecution,I live in Brighton and have gone onto the downs and picked flints out from fields,give them a good clean and they are fine,nice shapes too.

Alright emski, i took rocks from hamble beach, soaked them for a while and put them in my small fish tank. it is bollocks about getting nicked for stealing rock unless you take a dump truck load.

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Dom

I live just outside of brighton, i know you can get a good telling off if you remove, rocks/sand etc.. from certain beaches where protected or endaged species live but i have never heard of anything happening if you take a few rocks from your normal pebbley beach..

Dom_46 How long did you soak them for?
ray where are the downs (i am fairly new to brighton!)

cheers for both replies

the downs are the hills all around the south,a good place to collect flint is Ditchling beacon.

soak them for as long as possible. ray were your rocks just laying about in the fields? apparently b&q sell good rocks

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Dom

yes the fields here are full of flints some real big ones too,I bought bags of cobbles at b&q and limestone rocks at a garden centre.

i have used rocks from brighton beach in all my tanks.
i boil them for a few mins first.

Thanks for everyones replies, been a great help