Is this fools gold?

[howmanyds]

I'm hoping these are just quartz flakes since the rock is quartzite, but not being a geologist, it looks like fools gold to me because it's so shiny. I don't want to poison my fish.
Thoughts?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

You can look here to see if this says anything about it. Personally i wouldnt use it to be safe. Buterfly koi has done a ton of research on rocks and is the one that wrote this aricle
Introduction to Adding Natural Decor to an Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
You can send her a pm asking her if she knows anything about it.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Pyrite or fools gold contains iron sulphide which means that it is not good for an aquarium because,
"1. It has a strong acidifying effect, i.e. it drops the pH.
2. In addition to iron it sometimes contains small quantities of other more dangerous heavy metals such as lead, zinc, and copper.
3. Because it acidifies the water it can 'unlock' heavy metals into their toxic free-ionic forms."
IMO I wouldn't attempt using it in the aquarium without knowing fully what type of rock it is.

 

[howmanyds]

Thanks butterfly koi - I was just in the process of sending you a pm asking my question. Since I don't have my fish yet and am going to be cycling the tank, is there a test I can do after a week or two to see if these are leaching anything dangerous?

These shiny bits are most likely quartz, not pyrite, but I guess I'm not 100% sure.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Veins of pyrite are very common in quartz. Often times if left to open air the rock will decompose. Sulfate released from decomposing pyrite combines with water producing sulfuric acid. Best thing I can recommend if your set on using it would be to leave it in water and then test your iron after a week or so.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13512

If anything is going to leach into the tank that is noticeable it'll be iron.