What Kind of Rock

[richiestang_78]

So I found this rock and want to put it in my aquarium but dont know if it would be safe to, unfortuantly my camera ia broke so I have to describe it. Its mainly a translucent greyish color with bands of white on it , I beleive its quartz from pictures ive looked up. Again sorry no picture

 

[Sicklid]

put some white vinegar on it... If it fizzes, then it is could make your water alkaline, which may or may not be bad for you. What size system, what species do you keep, other things like this can be factors in what kind of rock you may want in there.

Sound like quartz, if it's at all translucent, but not necessarily... Where did you get this stone?

 

[SparKy697]

Is the rock itself translucent or does it have spots that are translucent. I have some granite that has pieces of mica in it. This mineral looks like tiny sheets of clear plastic layered on top of each other.

Those are the only two that I have run across that looks translucent. I don't know if either one would harm your tank though.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Bucket test. Put water in a bucket, wait a day and test pH, GH and KH. Add the rock, wait a week or two, retest.

 

[richiestang_78]

Its completely trasnlucent, as far as the fish in the tnaks just neosn and bettas. I found the rock in some box i was looking through and thoughs it would look nice in my tank. So if it is quartz then it wont do anything to the water right?

 

[JDogg]

Its completely trasnlucent, as far as the fish in the tnaks just neosn and bettas. I found the rock in some box i was looking through and thoughs it would look nice in my tank. So if it is quartz then it wont do anything to the water right?

yes IF its is quarts then it will be fine...

if you had picture i could give you reliable ID...

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah I know, need to get a new digi camera.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Article in PFK this month (December) by Mary Bailey (cichlid expert) suggests that vinegar and lemon juice are too weak to produce a reliable reaction from testing the hardness of rock, FWIW. She recommends getting a pharmacist to test (bit of a hassle I know).

 

[richiestang_78]

Im not too worried, I did some online research and it has to be quartz, no other rock matches its description.

 

[JDogg]

Im not too worried, I did some online research and it has to be quartz, no other rock matches its description.

hummm... tell that to my Geology students... they could give you a number of minerals they "THINK" are quartz but are not

 

[richiestang_78]

Well Ill try to get a pic of it somehow and post it.

 

[richiestang_78]

Heres the rock

 

[SparKy697]

It looks kind of like some of the quartz I have in the yard. However it looks like salt too!

 

[richiestang_78]

That orange stuff on there was on it when I found it in the box, not sure what it is

 

[JDogg]

humm...like someone already said the picture narrows it down to 2 possibilities...
either rose quartz (aquarium safe)

or

Halite "rock salt" (not aquarium safe)

the orange on the bottom is probably a little bit of rust which makes me think quartz...

easy test to be 100% sure... Lick it if it tastes like salt it is...if it tastes like a rock it is quartz....

 

[richiestang_78]

If it was salt wouldnt it dissolve in water, I placed it in some water to rinse it off and nothing so I assume it is quartz.

 

[JDogg]

If it was salt wouldnt it dissolve in water, I placed it in some water to rinse it off and nothing so I assume it is quartz.

yes, but how long was it in the water?

come on lick it

 

[richiestang_78]

For a while and I scrubed it with a hard brush and nothing. Also i didnt have any salty resedue on my fingers, If I jsut foudn the rock sure id lick it but its been in a dark probably moldy basement for who knows how long and all the cleaning in the world aint going to get me to put my tongue on it. I smelled it and didnt smell salt, sounds weird but I can smell salt

 

[JDogg]

For a while and I scrubed it with a hard brush and nothing. Also i didnt have any salty resedue on my fingers, If I jsut foudn the rock sure id lick it but its been in a dark probably moldy basement for who knows how long and all the cleaning in the world aint going to get me to put my tongue on it. I smelled it and didnt smell salt, sounds weird but I can smell salt

ok

 

[tropicalfish]

Well, then, if you don't want to put your tongue on it, wash the rock really really well, and wash your hands too. With your hands and the rock wet, rub your hand on the rock, then lick your hand. If it tastes like salt, its salt.