Rocks

[TCool]

Glad we could help. I am reminded of what my grandfather said, ''Fools are positive and a genius thinks awhile''. Check and double check and if you are unsure, use a diluted hydrochloric acid for sure (i.e muratic acid).

Your quote reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Those who think they know everything annoy those of us who do." I get some weird looks from people when I tell them that sometimes.

 

[corrado33]

I would have to disagree. I would highly advise against coal, as this is a petroleum byproduct. Would you dump motor oil in your tank? Sandstone will alter your water chemistry, so its not for the beginner. I dont like lava rock for the simple fact of fish safety.

I was just quoting the book. But, for future reference, how would sandstone alter water chemistry?

And, coal itself is natural... motor oil, not so much, so would coal really be THAT bad? I could see it leaching organics into the water, but other than that not much else?

EDIT: Not that I'd be putting coal in MY tank, I'm just askin.

 

[Lowryder]

Sandstone would be fine for say, African cichlids. Sandstone makes the PH higher and the chemistry in sandstone varies so no results are consistant.

As for coal, coal contains sulphur and other impurities. Some carbon however is ok, such as the activated carbon that some of us use

 

[Twoapennything]

I just bought some tufa rocks for my aquarium - the guy at the LFS told me that tufa can sometimes raise pH. I decided not to use it in my aquarium after all, as they seem to be easily broken down when soaked. I'm going to use my tufa rock as a doorstop instead.

I like glass rocks a lot. Not the squashed marbles (those are okay, too, really) but the big glass rocks. As long as they are not chipped and there are no sharp edges, they do well in the aquarium. They are man-made glass rocks and I think they're pretty.

 

[corrado33]

What about crystals? I'm not a rock scientist... (Have no idea what they're called)

I'm sure crystals are mostly salt? It'd be cool to have a futuristic "crystal" tank.

 

[Lowryder]

What about crystals? I'm not a rock scientist... (Have no idea what they're called)

Geologist.

 

[corrado33]

Yeah those... it's late... I don't think past eleven

 

[TCool]

I'm thinking back to my geology classes and I think crystals can be formed from many different types of minerals(I'm almost certain salt isn't part of it-could be wrong tho). But rocks like granite have tiny crystals in them that were formed when the rock was formed from the magma that cooled.

I know a little bit about rocks. My question was merely about how long I should test them in water since I'm really bad at identifying particular types of rocks. Now, if it were about metamorphic vs igneous vs sedimentary rocks then I could probably figure it out easier. But, that can't be the case because shale is ok, but sandstone isn't. So, that simply leaves me knowing that I have a small pile of either igneous or metamorphic rocks (haven't looked to closely at them). I might have learned more, but do you know how hard it is to pay attention to lectures about rocks?

 

[Lowryder]

I think any major change to water chemistry would show up within 2 weeks.