Aquarium rock worries

[Capt.Gorilla]

I splurged about $60 at my lfs today buying a back drop a cave some silk plants and a 4lb sedimentary layered rock.
It has bands of mostly white with red/brown stripes and I think it may be a tad calcium rich because its scratchable...
Could this be very harmful, would it raise ph by chance (cause that would acctualy be good).

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

That sounds like a type of rock Bernie sells; he labels it "Zebra Rock". It probably will alter your water's chemistry-- the only question is how much will it alter the water and how quickly will that happen? Okay- so that's two questions.

If your water's hardness is really low, I'd be concerned about a drastic change stressing your fish. If the water has a decent hardness level, that buffering capacity will not allow any drastic changes. Instead, you should see a gradual rising of the pH value in your aquarium. Of course, if your hardness levels are sky-high, you may have enough of a buffering capacity that it'd take a good deal more rock than you've got to cause any changes.

If you don't already know what your GH and KH values are- I'd suggest testing for those ASAP- just to know what you're dealing with. Then, monitor the pH levels DAILY to ensure nothing gets too far out of whack and causes trouble.

 

[Allivymar]

Drop some vinegar on it and see if it fizzes. If it does, it will likely change the pH.

I've got some rock thats similar, if not the same. Doesn't seem to affect the water, but it didn't fizz either.

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

Alright, It wasen't labeled as zebra rock but it looked an awful lot like the zebra rock they had.
I'll try the fizzle test and I think that my water softness would be extremely low since haifax has the best "water quality" of any city in canada and apparently pretty high up compared to the rest of the world.

 

[Sati]

I'm going to get some beautiful rock from the local stream tomorrow :]

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

Well, the rock didn't fizzle at all...

 

[Allivymar]

Its most likely inert then and should be fine for the tank. Just rinse it well before adding it; I noticed the red streaked rock I had was a bit dusty when I took it out of the bag.

 

[Terry]

Vinegar is only a mild acid, if you want to check if a rock is going to raise your ph put a few drops of ph down on it and see if it fizzies. I never use ph down on any of my tanks, but i always make sure i have a bottle handy to check rocks and ornamants to make sure there OK.

This is just something i do, i find it better than vinager.

 

[TankGirl]

put a few drops of ph down on it and see if it fizzies

That is a good idea, Terry!

I too think it is very important to check your KH, Capt. If, as you indicate, you don't mind raising your pH, then you need to know it as KH and pH go hand in hand, so to speak!

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

well, I will look for a kh test next time a visit the lfs but yes, if it raises my ph I will be happy because for some reason no matter what I do the ph is always at 6.2 or 6.3.

 

[Electrobes]

wow thats hella low. man why is it I can not find any rock in Gainesville! I would love to start siliconing some rocks together... I am about to buy two pieces of awesome driftwood for the dojo tank that I am building. Now all I need will be the rock but good luck for me finding that!

 

[captainGregor]

Electrobes, all you need to do is find a place that sells rock for construction. They sell a variety of rock dirt cheap - usually .25 a pound. Make sure you do not buy limestone, for it will make your water harder and more alkaline. Buy sandstone, granite, or whatever else pleases your eyes. I usually brush rock with metal brush (you know, the one for the grill) in a mild bleach solution then rinse and rinse and rinse, and check for calcium (the acid test) and that's it. Beats the hell out of $1.79 for LFS rock which is essentially the same.
Capt. Gorilla I am sorry to hear that you had to spring $60 for the rocks and maybe you could have done the thing I just described. I personally used river rock from local creek and slate from the rock shop place. Works great. The only thing that they do not sell is lava rock and if you like that you might need to buy it at LFS

 

[captainGregor]

Here is a good phrase I picked up at http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aquascaping/rocks.shtml:
"At your local fish store you'll see various kinds of rocks, all guaranteed "aquarium safe." At your local landscaping outlet or stone yard you'll see many of the same kinds of rock, not guaranteed "aquarium safe" --but spectacularly cheaper by comparison. Two of the best kinds of rock you're going to find are shale and slate."

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

I didn't spring $60 on rocks, i spent $8 on this one particular rock while buying plants for the tank.

I don't know I would be able to keep the ph balenced by adding limestone, I would rather fing the route of the problem being whats causing the drop in ph.