Ocean Rock?

[SBee]

My thoughtful parents brought me back a whole bunch of beautiful, lightweight rock from the Oregon Coast last year when they were there. They thought I might like them for my tanks...

I've always assumed you couldn't put ocean rocks in freshwater tanks....

but they are just so nice!! And they'd look great in my new tank I think.

Are they ok to use after a good cleaning? boiling??

thanks!

 

[wetmanNY]

If you boil rocks, make sure the internal temperature reaches 180o.

Lightweight rocks would be pumice? Nice. grow Anubias on them!

 

[SBee]

hmmmmm they aren't as dark as pumice usually is.....although I have seen quite a range in pumice color!

they aren't very porous either.....couldn't fit plants in them at all!!

they ARE lightweight though.....hmm.....and they are quite ruddy where they aren't white....so I suppose they are composed of mainly ferromagnesium minerals too...


how do I know if the interal temp. reaches 180 degrees? f or c ?

 

[Fish Hunter]

Just watch your PH some ocean rocks will drive your PH up. Crushed coral is one example of this.

 

[RENEGADE]

180 Fahrenheit
82 Celsius
355 Kelvin
639 Rankine

 

[SBee]

ahh! ok!! They are going in a mbuna tank in all likelihood.....so a pH raise would be a-ok.....



so no one can foresee any other problems then?

 

[ejmeier]

I would recommend doing a quick test:

1. Fill a bowl up with water and measure the pH, or assume it is at 7.
2. Put your rock in the bowl and let it sit in the bowl for a day or two and then measure the pH of the water.

I know that with tufa rock and other stuff that comes from the ocean, it can raise the pH of the water to that of saltwater, or close to it. I don't know the details of your setup, or what pH you are shooting for, but it could possibly raise your pH from 7.0 to 8.0 or higher.

Just food for thought.

 

[SBee]

Thanks, great idea!

I'm aiming for pH of 8.2