Found some rocks, can I use them?

[tmy420]

I found some rocks while hiking today and I was wondering if I can put these in... They are like aridecent(spelling?) on the outside, like a whit blue.. I forgot what they call these rocks but does anyone know if I can put these in? If I took a pictures with my crappy webcam would anyone be able to tell?

[tmy420]

2 of them look glassy

[indiginess]

glassy rocks are often formed from lava or magma (ingeous rocks, and i'm sure i misspelled that), obsidian for example, and are fine for aquariums. the only concern about obsidian is the razor-sharp nature of their edges.

yeah, post some picks if you can.

the real concern for a rocks' suitablity is the minerals they contain, and if they will disolve in water.

[tmy420]

Glassy rocks...

[indiginess]

looks like quartz to me (silicon)

you should be fine. boiling never hurts.

[tmy420]

This one is dull grey and rough with white lines

[tmy420]

white rocks.... with a lil crystal things...

[indiginess]

lines suggest sedimentary rock, can consist of any number of materials.

i think you might be ok, but an acid test might be a good idea if you want to avoid a calcium carbonate source (lime)

theres another thread currently active that discussed this.

[indiginess]

last one looks like granite or... man i cant remember.

granite is fine in most cases as it too is largely silicon. there are other minerals, but are trapped in the lattice of the crystal structure.

my geology is a little rusty, so if anyone wants to sound in, that would be great.

[tmy420]

thanks indiginess

[indiginess]

no problem, glad i could help

[tmy420]

Im just using the two big glass looking ones... so you say I should be fine right? I scrubbed them off with a bleach solution and now im boiling them now... Im gunna scrub uhm with water and rinse with water and put in the tank.. Sound good?
thanks.

[fish_breeder_05]

I used to be into rocks and fossils and ornamental stones and everything like that until I saw a dragonfish and was instently hooked. What you are descrirbing seems like obsidian. If that is the class then it can be come quike dangerous if a piece or more break off as they break off into sharp lyropecten bivalve shaped (shells) indents. (It used to be that I could remember that off the top of my head, but I hold to dig out an olld book or too for this one :joke: )

[fish_breeder_05]

I did not take a lok at any other posts or the pics before I posted laste and that is not odsidian. Agate? like I said I'm not as sharp on this thing as in the past

[Halo]

Yah, looks like a quartz agregate... Vinegar test never hurts, but otherwise, I think your mineral content should be pretty harmless. I think! You're boiling it, so no worries about insects or chemicals.

I can think of a few caveats to be aware of. Quartz can have sharp points. Run your hands all over.. anything that can hurt your fish? Doubt it. But on the hardness scale, Quartz is an 8. Make sure it's not going to scratch your glass, and be super carefull putting it in, or moving it around. A little layer of gravel or sand to keep it from rubbing on the glass bottom might not be a bad thing.

Where in the country do you live? I find pieces like that in western North Carolina.

[fishisme]

i like rocks... well my bro had the idea to put them in my tank... i am not sure what kinda rock this one is??? http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c141/spads_rule/fishcopy.jpg

[gabrielandco.]

i love rocks! so am followingthis thread. i read somewhere not to use rocks with any type of metal formation. how can you tell? i hvae seen many rocks around here that look like they have metallic deposits which flake off when broken along the deposit.

thanks!



years ago, i placed a 2" piece of malachite in my tank. i didn't know at the time that the green came from copper....so, does it leach copper? could other semiprecious stones be a problem? could this be a contributing factor to why my ghost shrimp went gypsy?

sorry if this is taking over your post....just thought posting here would be good since it applies.

[indiginess]

i know that invertebrates are often the first victims in instances of copper poisoning of water systems.

not sure if malachite will leach in normal aquarium settings, but the copper industry has used vats of sulfuric acid to extract the metal from rocks containing malachite.

??? now i'm curious.

[Halo]

Copper will leach from malachite over time. How much and how fast depends on your water acidity. I've dealt with metal leaching in my spring water for quite a little while now, from copper to lithium carbonate (yes, lithium is a light metal), to iron. It's something to be wary of, but it's also fairly uncommon to have those materials at hand. If you want to use gemstones, don't use the mineral deposit gems. They can break down over time. On the other hand, quartz is pretty darn water resistant, and holds interlaced minerals better..

As a rule of thumb, look up the mineral hardness scale? Just an idea...

[Roan Art]

As a rule of thumb, look up the mineral hardness scale? Just an idea...Don't think the MOHs scale will help with this. I tested some of my various soapstones (1-3 on the scale), catlinite (about a 2-3), and my Black Pearl Soapstone (which is actually a steatite and about 4-5 MOHs) with hydrochloric acid (bottle #1 in my Aquarium Pharm. nitrate test) and they were all inert.

Talc is the lowest on the MOHs scale and a few of those carving rocks are mostly talc.

Roan

[indiginess]

yeah, tmy420, you should be fine. honestly, if the rocks don't come out of water, like a river or lake, scrubbing them really well with an old toothbrush and baking soda in a container under running tap water is all i do.

but to be clear, boiling is always good. planeria are one of the organisms that can hitch in from moist earth.

its tough to ask questions in a middle of an active thread. people scroll and miss a short post all together. i know i do it all the time. stupid college. makes you work too fast. :dog:

[tmy420]

I live in Connecticut.. I found a lot of nice rocks around in the woods and by brooks.. I got the 2 big glassy ones in there now thats it, plus 3 flat rainbow slate things I got at a petstore, making caves... There not sharp at all, they are almost pretty smooth. I will take pics when i get my digital cam.

[Halo]

Sorry Roan, I meant in terms of losing mineral content over time. Leeching into the water and the like, not reactivity. Urk.. sorry to be confusing..I should have been clearer.