Beach rocks/stones as substrate?

[Steven Prince]

i read somewhere you can use stones from the beach to as a substrate for fish tanks as long as you boil them first, would this be possible for ACF's or would the rocks mess with the water and cause harm to my little guy?
oh... and if its a hit and miss depending on the type of stone what types if any would be suitable?

thanks for any help

[Jenste]

Do not boil rocks - they can explode.
You can put them in HOT water, but you do not want it to boil.

Rinse them thoroughly and then break off a tiny piece for a vinegar test. On the rock piece, put a few drops of vinegar and if it reacts then you cannot use the rock. If nothing happens then after a few more soaks in water then you should be good to go.

[Steven Prince]

thank you very much for the warning, i rather like my face being free of shards of rock lol and that vinegar test is pure genius i live right next to a stony beach and there are quite often bright one so it will be incredibly helpful to be able to do this, I've been using tank gravel because the pet shop suggested it but a lot of people on here are saying that he could eat it so I'm looking for a good looking cheep alternative

[NatureLady]

Thanks for this post! I think a lot of people are looking for cheaper ways to do things...or maybe that is just me

[KingCam]

Thanks for this post! I think a lot of people are looking for cheaper ways to do things...or maybe that is just me

Definitely not just you. Check out this post on caudata.org where I re-constructed my tiger salamander tank using stuff I already had laying around the house: Tiger Sal Tank - Revamp Time! - Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Forum

[rivkah]

I really like the layout of your tiger salamander tank. It was inqenius using the overturned plastic containers to take up space... great idea!