Holey rock, barnacle shells.

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LLG

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
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I bought a few pieces of holey rock and some empty large barnacle shells (some are attached to stones) for my soon-to-be shell dweller tank.

After they soaked for a while in plain well water (hard and alkaline), I looked at the rock and there were softer, crumbly bits inside the holes that I could pull out with tweezers. Pieces of the rock broke off when I tried to clean out the holes.

Is this rock safe for the tank? If there are shells, doesn't it mean its from the ocean so will the holes have salt in them? Will it change the pH of the water?

The same questions apply to the barnacle shells.

PS. I am trying to finish getting the tank ready today and just washed 50 lbs of pool filter sand. Six N. similis should arrive on Wednesday!
 
The reef stone will likely increase carbonate hardness.

There may well be some salt on the stones but it doesn't mean the stone IS salt. It is likely either lava or dead coral . A picture would help.

Soak in initially warm water for a day - change out the water a couple times to help clean any salt residue out, off. You can use a brand new medium softer bristle brush to get off sea mud. Over time it will come off and you can use a vac to get out sediment from the tank.

Not too sure what kind of rock you have so if you can post a few pics that could help.
 
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