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Using natural stone as apposed to store bought?
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
General message area: Using natural stone as apposed to store
bought?
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tammy
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Saturday,
March 16, 2002 - 08:51 pm
We have a creekbed with a lot of neat looking stone of all
shapes and sizes. My husband thought it would be neat if
we rinsed the stone well and used it in our freshwater tank
as apposed to buying it. We have a 90 gallon tank. Is this
a good idea? We havent got any fish yet as this is a new
hobby. All info is appreciated.
Thanks, Tammy
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G
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Saturday,
March 16, 2002 - 11:27 pm
As long as you clean them well, there shouldn't be any
problems. The only exception depends on where you live.
If you live in an area with a lot of limestone, this may
not be a good idea. Limestone will raise the pH and hardness
of your water to levels that may be less desirable to several
species of fish. If you want to keep South American fish,
or some types of Asian fish, you might be better off not
using the rock if you suspect it may be limestone. If you
want to do African Cichlids, or Central American livebearers,
the higher pH and water hardness will be just fine. If you
aren't sure whether or not the rocks will affect pH,
collect a few of the rocks, and do an experiment putting
several rocks in a bucket filled with tap water, and measure
the pH before you put the rocks in, and after they've
been in a couple of days. It probably wouldn't be a
bad idea to set out another bucket of water filled with
tap water and nothing else to use as a "control"
for the experiment. Sometimes the pH of water will change
as it sits out (generally more so of well water I have
found, but it may change with tap water too). Keeping
a bucket filled only with tap water will help determine
whether any changes in your water parameters can be blamed
on the rocks or not.
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boofish
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Sunday,
March 17, 2002 - 08:04 am
I also read that if you drop some vinegar onto the rock
type in question it will bubble if it is a type of rock
that will dissolve over time and adjust your ph. I would
also suggest boiling h20 to kill off anything that may be
lurking on the rocks.
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tammy
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Sunday,
March 17, 2002 - 01:13 pm
Thank you so much for the info. We have all sandstone where
we live, no limestone. Is that not good either? What is
a good fish to start off with, to help get the water where
it should be? How long should we wait before we put any
fish in the tank? I know the ph needs to be right, but what
other things should we check before putting living creatures
in? I'm sorry I have a lot of silly questions.
This is new to us, but hopefully we will learn fast. Thank
you very much, Tammy
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boofish
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 07:08 am
Have you read the "Genesis" and "Basics"
sections on this site? They give a good description of "cycling"
a new tank and what to expect. After your tank has been
running for a couple of days - a week with only water in
it, you can add a small amount of fish to begin cycling.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/charts/good_bad.html
talks about good and bad starter fish.
I'm sure different websites will say different things
but this is what one http://www.uniquaria.com/articles/sr.html
said about what kind of rocks are safe for aquariums (safe
in that they won't adjust your h20)
Safe Rocks:
Crystalline Quartz
(Rock Crystal, Amethyst, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Smokey
Quartz)
Granite
Jade
Lava Rock
Microcrystalline Quartz
(Jasper, Agate, Chalcedony, Sard, Carnelian)
Onyx
Petrified Wood
Quartz
Slate
Unsafe Rocks:
Coal
(Commercially harvested coal is treated with an oil
by-product to reduce dust)
Coral
Dolomite
Fools Gold
(or any other rock with metallic veins--Acid Producing)
Fossils
Limestone
Marble
Sandstone
Good luck and have fun! 90 gallons---I'm jealous!
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joycedonley
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 07:40 am
If you are keeping African Rift Cichlid that like a high
ph actually limestone,dolomite and coral are a good choice.
If you are keeping softwater fish or fish that like a neutral
ph...obviously these would be a bad choice. I know I have
lots of limestone in my 75 mbuna tank! Also Tufa rock(found
in LFS stores) can raise ph.
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