salt water rocks?

lereg15

AC Members
Oct 2, 2004
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Englewood, Florida
I have a cichlid tank with a high ph of 8-8.4. Earlier today, a friend gave me this neat looking rock that he found on the beach,(gulf of mexico). Can I use that in my tank ? Also, do they have any live rock for freshwater? Thanks in advance.

P.S. Still no nimbochromis polystigma owners. Apparently either a rare or very aggressive species.
 
You'll want to determine what kind of a rock it is. The biggest concern will be that it alters the water chemistry--though with a high pH, that's not a huge concern. If you can't identify the rock, soak it in a bucket with water from your tank for 2 weeks, and then test the water. Compare the results--if there's no change in the hardness and KH, it's likely safe (inert). Check that the water hasn't clouded--some rocks will cloud the water, though they don't seem to change other readily testable parameters. Otherwise, rinse it and go!

No place that I've seen offers FW LR--most likely because the biggest reason to purchase cultured SW rock is not for the bacteria, but for the variety of organisms. Since there are not comparable FW organisms, there's no real reason to cultivate the rocks. You can use porous rock in FW, and it will become biologically active with the bacteria. Several types of plants will happily grow on these rocks--java fern and anubias sp most notably.
 
Thanks Og ! I had it soaking in just regular water, but I need to do a water change tomorrow, so I'll soak it in some water from there.
As for what the rock is, I have no clue, but it has lots of little(pencil width) holes in it that I was thinking fry could hide in, once I get my mbunas. I just wish someone could tell me if my nimbochromis polystigma could be in the tank with them. I'm currently looking for a 55gal. for it, but I just bought this 110 gal, and with setting it up, I'm kinda strapped for cash at the moment. I guess I'm just getting impatient. Thanks again.
 
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