what kind of rock to choose?

[lucid_boy]

hello, I really want to put some kind of black rock in my 55gal fishtank. so far I have black gravel and a little white gravel mixed in together and I would love to put in some black rock to go along with it. is there a good type that would be better than some other kind. like obsidian vs pumice? anyway any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[jpappy789]

If you want black rock than you should try slate. It's aquarium safe as far as I know.

 

[KnaveTO]

Slate would be your best bet as it will not affect your water chemistry at all. Obsidian may not be safe as it is a glass and its edges could cut your fish

 

[lucid_boy]

hmmm, tou see my buddy picked up some rock from a landscaping place for his aquarium, it is cool looking, but it very pourous looking. I would love the look of it, he said he boiled them before adding and he did not notice any abnormalities... hmmm, I could check it with vineagar right, if it bubbles its bad right?

 

[lucid_boy]

ok what about labradorite? that is my absolute favorite and I have a piece that wiould be cool in the tank?

 

[Featherfin]

youd have to ask a geologist.


all rocks will eventually, over a very long period of time, erode into the water and raise the pH and alkalinity.

a general rule of thumb would be the harder and more solid a rock, the safer it is.


crumbly, porous rocks would be a bad idea, i think. and anything with calcium carbonate in it would be bad, too - check up on the chemical composition of the rocks you want to use.

 

[jpappy789]

try and get the name of the rock your buddy has

 

[DebbyS]

Jasper is good, especially if you like orange-red with sometimes green; watch for sharp edges. I figure if it has small cracks and such, a roughness, beneficial bacteria can live in those places. I also like polished petrified wood for that woody look, and clear, blue and pink quartz crystals, though again watch for sharp edges so fish chasing around don't hurt themselves if they run into a rock. I get my decorative rocks at "Mama's Minerals" here in Albuquerque (they have a website, too), and other rock and mineral oriented stores should also have them. I think that especially the quartz can be found at new-age stores.

<--note my 3 cories are resting on a piece of polished petrified wood or some similar rock.

 

[lucid_boy]

thanks for putting it into perspective for me, I figured harder rocks would probably fare much better for this kind of application.

 

[iamgroovy]

I get my decorative rocks at "Mama's Minerals" here in Albuquerque (they have a website, too),

Wow, I just checked out the Mama's Minerals website. Really cool!