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OK. I have bought these Black Rocks that I have been SEARCHING EVERYWHERE FOR and I am washing and boiling them. HOWEVER, There is a coat on them, says it is safe for aquariums as it shows on bag below, but if you scrape it with your fingernail it can come off. Is it ok to put in? I was told it was. But I want to get input!!!



I want to be safe. I have looked everywhere for black rocks and no where seems to have them. I finally found these. Let me know!

What are they coated with? I honestly haven't had a hard time finding black river rock.

I can find non-coated ones in my Walmart's craft section. I'd imagine that the coating is a wax-based coating. There are two ways to proceed: 1) Use them as is or 2) Remove the coating. I only worry about removing the coating if the color is associated with the coating. If the rocks aren't naturally black, it could leak into the water. If it is just a wax coating (like what they coat some fruits/veggies with), you can look in the produce section to see if they have one of those wax-removers there. But I'd test a rock first before doing the whole batch. Same with boiling them.

Well, I have a 40 gal tank and all I can find is small little 2lb bags of polished black river rocks for anywhere between $4-$7 a bag. That is insane! I found these 10 lb bags for $6. Which is still high to me. I returned them. THey were awful. Then I found 75 lb bag for $14.99 but they aren't polished at all and kinda dusty (which I guess you can clean) but they arent polished at all. I want the kind that are jet black polished like in the little tiny bags but in a bigger bulk! Now to make it more complicated I'm looking for 1/2"-1 1/2" and not bigger! AH!!! If someone knows of any that would be awesome!!!! But shipping always seems to be the issue too! Grrr

Oshynlover try a nursery that has pond supplies. Or a rock yard for construction usually will carry them. They will be dirty and dusty but usually clean up and look great. I just found some pretty black and green ones for my tank.
If you can't find any in Santa Monica, email me and I will give you a list of some here in the Valley to check out!

You know what - I appreciate the comments! I finally decided to get it from a craft place that only polishes them. No waxes, chemicals, etc. They only came in 2 lbs each bag but I was able to find a place that did it for dirt cheap. Got 32 lbs for $17. Not the greatest, but they are EXACTLY what I was looking for.

THANKS EVERYONE.

A crafts store like Michaels sells all kinds of rocks; some say they're aquarium safe, some say they're not for aquariums.

I've also gotten small bags of black rocks in the pet section of Walmart.