natural stone

I went to the shop yesterday that sells supplies for fireplaces I looked at their selection of natural stone and picked out a couple of pieces of nice flat, thin rock one is a great long thin piece around three inches on one end to four inches on the other and only about an inch thick from end-to-end about 15 sedimentary layers perfectly visible its a really deep grey color but one side has been exposed to the elements and its green but I'm sure the boiling will take care of that its a great piece of stone the other is shorter, rounder, and a little thicker and its shiny it looks reflective and its a green color I don't know where I'm going to find a pan big enough to boil these stones is there a boiling alternative? are there stones that would be harmful in the tank, stones that might release dangerous minerals or dissolve in the water over time? I'm going to start by trying to find out what type of stone I have anybody have any suggestions? and b.t.w.- I paid a dollar a piece for the stones if this works out right it would make for some great decorations in a lot of different tanks and is readily available most everywhere. Lee

 

sounds fab! I can't help you though i'm afraid. I don't boil anything. I just throw it in there!! or if its dirty I just rinse it in hot water from the tap.
love to see pics of your new venture!....

 

sounds fab! I can't help you though i'm afraid. I don't boil anything. I just throw it in there!! or if its dirty I just rinse it in hot water from the tap.
love to see pics of your new venture!....

are you talking about your famous snail stew, tan?

vertigo - maybe you can boil water and then pour it over the stones if you had a place to do that without boiling your legs from splashes..

 

thanks a lot folks I was beginning to think that no one would be able to give me an answer I did find out about using vinegar to test for carbonate levels I still can't seem to find a basic website that will tell what stone is called what I figured there would be something even a gallery I could browse but my attempts have failed I am going to take one of the stones out since its kinda soft and I worry about the ph levels going to far into base the other seems to be fine so I broke it up and made a jinga house out of it finally added some gravel to the tankscape didn't seem to be noticed by the residents now I am bound for some anacharis still can't find any tank-safe silicone that doesn't cost more than a new aquarium someone said GE 1 door and window but it says on the tube that its not safe for aquariums sooo..... I dunno Lee

 

Every rock taken from nature or non-aquatic shop might be potentialy dangerous to your fish. You should use vinegar and spill it on the rock. If you see foam, it contains too much Calcium - this causes high water hardness level, so it is not suitable for ordinary tanks, just for African cichlids aquariums. You should put rocks into newly set-up tank with plants only. If everything goes fine for about 2-4 weeks, then the rocks are OK. You could add 1-2 fish into that tank just for testing purposes.

Anyway, my tips are different than what I did . About 2-3 years ago I brought 10 kg of rocks from one lake in mountains and placed them into my fish tank. Naturally, no problem . These rocks are gr8 source of algae (because algare grows on these rocks perfectly) and my small bristlenose catfish love it. .... All in all, I was lucky.

And the last note.... Rocks help water temperature to be more stable than without rocks. They have gr8 temperature persistence.

 

I most definitely agree that natural stone is a benefit to the tank all of my little buddies love there stones I know I should take some pics but I haven't gotten to it yet I have gone to a new tankscape the stone I originally asked about has past the vinegar test so its going to be added tonite I think its a phyllite since its reflective and has plates of quartz in it I think the reflective surface is basically mica sand it has a wavy surface when it breaks and a really pretty pale green color called "sea-foam green" by all that see it I am color-blind so I had to ask well that's where this is going now I still want to find some sort of list or guide where I can see what kind of stone mite look good in my tank any suggestions? Lee