Roofing Slate Safe?

[richiestang_78]

So my parents work as a place that has a slate roof and collected quite a bit for me that from pieces that have fallen off the roof or from pieces that were replaced.

My question is, is all slate safe, or has roofing slate been treated or put through some sort of special process and should be avoided being used in aquariums.

 

[steeledarren]

Hi there, I work as a builder and do a bit of roofing now and then and have noticed that new slate i.e after 1996 is sometimes treated with a chemical to stop moss growing on it from when birds poop on it lol, i dont think it would be a problem putting it in the tank though because it only stays on the slate for a short time due to weathering, but because they are broken slate i would guess that they are old so they should be fine, they are pure natural slate, just boil the bits first to kill any bacteria that mite be on them.

 

[marchmaxima]

If the slate is untreated rock, you can use the vinegar test to see if it's suitable for the aquarium. Put a few drops of white vinegar on it. If it fizzes (due to the acetic acid in the vinegar), it will raise the pH. Unless that's what you want, I wouldn't put such rock into the tank.

 

[timwag2001]

if i'm not mistaken slate is used with tar sometimes. not to sure if that's safe to put in your tank.

 

[richiestang_78]

Well heres some photos of the slate that I just got. It has been outside in the elements for some time so if it was treated with anything wouldn't it have been washed away by now. Let me know if you think its safe. I plan on breaking it up and also using a cutting wheel on the larger pieces.

 

[marchmaxima]

I don't know how you'd test for treatments on the slate itself, but you might want to test out in advance how it might change your parameters. I bought some river rocks from an LFS, put them in and my pH dove. I set up a several glasses of water, tested the pH after 24 hours, put a rock in each glass and tested again after 48 hours. Sure enough, it was a single rock that was the culprit. He is now in my garden.

You might want to do something similar if you have a container large enough for one of the peices.

 

[timwag2001]

i would bet that if you put a few drops of distilled water on the slate and then used some litmus paper it would give you an indication of whether it would swing your ph.

i'm not sure if they use treatments on roofing slate. I clean tile and grout (flooring) profesionally and we use different types of sealants. different types of sealants include silicones, flouro-polymers, laquers, epoxies, urethanes and acrylics. these are things that i know about tile floors, i do not know for sure about roofing but i think that you might be better off avoiding something that you are not sure is a 100% untreated natural stone.

 

[kangster]

when in doubt dont do it...
its always better to be safe than sorry

 

[ezy33]

Tar

if i'm not mistaken slate is used with tar sometimes. not to sure if that's safe to put in your tank.

In the day I believe they used tar to seal the metal framed tanks.

I have used slate for egg laying breeders.

 

[richiestang_78]

Apparently the way the slate is attached to the roof is via copper nails so no tar or adhesive. these apparently were ever used and just sat outside to be cracked and broken over the years since the roof was put in. I was going to soak them for about a week in some water and ill be sure to test if pH will be affected. But it looks like any kind of slate you would get at a fish store but in much larger pieces.

 

[richiestang_78]

So I have tested the slate with Vinegar and it passed, and then also let them soak for 2 days in a bucket, scrubbed them and now they are soaking for another couples days.

I also put a small piece sit in a glass of water which pH I tested before hand and then after and it seems to be the same.

Any more input before I stick them in the tanks?

 

[ricaroofers]

A roofing slate is safe, it could be poisonous to the water if you use it to your tank. Maybe you, it depends on the brands, some are having some kind of chemicals that could affect the nature of water.

 

[JohnPaul]

One small thing, if you are using sections of slate that were physically in contact with copper nails, some of the copper may have transferred to the slate, and slowly leach out into the water over time. This would only be an issue if you ever plan to keep any freshwater inverts in there: shrimp, crays, crabs, or snails. Copper is highly, highly toxic to virtually all freshwater inverts, and once it is in a tank you can never really get all the traces of it out.

Since I think inverts are a great way to add a little spice to a fish tank, even if you don't have any immediate plans to have any in there, I would just go through and make sure you don't use any sections of slate that actually have the nail holes or nail marks on them.