Testing Your Live Rock

[krzyphsygy]

Alright, so I know there is a way to test your rock to see if it is safe for your aquarium or not. I have heard pour a type of acid on it or something, I am not sure. But I would like to test a few rocks I have to see if it is ok to be in my aquarium.
I have heard that "non reef rock" can have all types of deposits and minerals in it that make it leech chemicals into the tank that will cause problems for you pets.

So does anyone know how to do this? Thanks for any help provided!

 

[bertoni]

I can't think of any cost-effective way to test rocks for safety in a reef. What kind of rocks are you considering adding?

 

[krzyphsygy]

I can't think of any cost-effective way to test rocks for safety in a reef. What kind of rocks are you considering adding?

Well I found some dried up rock on a secluded beach in the keys. The rock is really nice looking and I could tell that it was once in the ocean many moons ago. The beach where I found it used to be fully under water many years ago and looks like there might have been a reef there because there are a great deal of these rocks around. The formation of the rock and the little dried up tube worms that once resided there are still embeded on it.
I have had everthing from tonga, to fiji, to marshall island live rock and this stuff compares well. I just want to know if the materials that have formed this rock are safe to be in an enclosed system.
How can I test the rock to know that, how does anyone test there rocks to now this. who's to say that people arent digging up rock from there back yard, cycling it and selling as the "shatelly Islands" live rock?? Ya know??

 

[jinks]

I recall some sort of test for sand where you put it in vinegar and if it foamed it was safe/not safe. I think the same is done by pouring some on a rock and looking for foam. Can't recall the specifics or what it proved (calcium based maybe), but it might help you search. I suppose hydrochloric acid might produce the same results. I think its kind of like putting baking soda in vinegar

 

[bertoni]

The vinegar test will tell you whether the rock might be calcium carbonate or not. I don't think that makes a good safety test.

If you'd like to use the rock, you could consider giving it a bit of an acid bath. It's likely to be safe enough as long as it doesn't contain industrial pollutants of some sort, but I can't think of any reasonable way to demonstrate that it's safe.

 

[krzyphsygy]

What kind of acid would I use? Vinegar, or like sulfuric or something?

 

[bertoni]

Muriatic acid is the cheapest. It can be used by adding 1 part acid to 10 parts water. Vinegar is safer, but it'd take a lot of it.