181lizard
Cave Dweller
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Post by 181lizard on Feb 11, 2007 17:09:40 GMT -5
Does anyone know if tumbled/polished rocks could harm fish in a aquarium? Normal, everyday average sort of rocks that have gone thru 4 stage or less polishing then burnishing w/20 mule team.
Thanks in advance guys!
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drupe
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2005
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Post by drupe on Feb 11, 2007 17:19:04 GMT -5
I've put some of my excess in my acquarium last Sept. Haven't lost a fish yet. And they really make the tank look great much prettier than regular gravel. I've even given some polished rocks to friends for their tanks and I've only heard how pretty they are in their tanks.
No problem.
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Post by deb193 on Feb 11, 2007 17:22:27 GMT -5
Generaly NO. Same as putting in river rocks (polished by nature). Exceptions are any dyed agate, which can leach toxic dye. I would also not want cinnabar (has mercury) or a few others.
BUt undyed agate and jasper or pet wood or quartz ... no problem!
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snowdog
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Post by snowdog on Feb 11, 2007 17:24:05 GMT -5
Liz, --- I had to say it!! ---- only if you hit them in the head when you drop them in !! ouch !! ;D ---- otherwise, if they are rinsed off with just plain water ( no soaps or excess polish , etc. on them ) then it shouldn't hurt anything ;D
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Post by texaswoodie on Feb 11, 2007 17:35:43 GMT -5
Anything that will not dissolve in water is OK. You don't want to use limestone, sandstone, barite, selinite, etc.
Curt
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181lizard
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Post by 181lizard on Feb 11, 2007 17:46:46 GMT -5
Thanks to you 4 for answering sooo quickly! Good! Then I can start giving some of my polished rocks to family & friends for their tanks. Ya know...I go into pet stores all the time & I can't figure out why someone hasn't started selling their tumbled stones to them for use in their tanks! All I ever see is polished glass, which is pretty enough, or the mesh bags with white & black polished river rock. OR...That faux coral that's usually sprayed w/a flourescent paint. Could you imagine a tank filled with OJ? (the rock Dave! Not the juice! Maybe it's a good thing I haven't found a fish store that's cool enough to carry tumbled pretty rough....it'd just be another place I go to see rocks.....
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Post by lbowman1 on Feb 11, 2007 17:56:13 GMT -5
Just be careful that they are well rinsed and check the content of the stone for toxic materials or other things that will change the ph.
Lori
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181lizard
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Post by 181lizard on Feb 11, 2007 17:59:45 GMT -5
Gotcha Lori! And cp? Brilliant thought! By using flatter pieces, there's less area to actually take a goldfish out with! LOL - you little devil!
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Post by Toad on Feb 11, 2007 18:29:41 GMT -5
Watch out for copper based rocks such as chrsocholla and malachite - I would think they are bad news.
Cinnabar, Daniel?? Probably too soft to tumble - plus it also has the sulpher.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 11, 2007 18:31:55 GMT -5
Quartz materials are the best bet for the aquarium. Wise to avoid metallic ores because they can contain toxic arsenates, copper compounds etc. Slabbed rocks are OK if they're clean but they have to be free of coolant residues etc....mel
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spacegold
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2006
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Post by spacegold on Feb 11, 2007 19:45:18 GMT -5
No one has mentioned calcite. Most aquariums run to the acid side of pH. This will slowly consume materials like calcite, dolomite, marble, limestone, and sea shells. And, as Toad mentions, copper is not good. If you have a local source of basalt, sandstone or even granite building stone, you can build wonderful revetments and caves in a big aquarium. In the corners you can layer it up to hide the stacks.
Unless you have good algae eaters, though, the gloss will soon dull on polished stone.
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Post by lonewolfrockhound on Feb 12, 2007 9:48:27 GMT -5
Also, larger stones don't seem to filter out the poopoo as well. The poop doesn't get entrapped as well in the smaller size rock you see sold expressly for aquariums. That's been my experience anyway. I don't recommend switching a tank over to solely larger polished rocks but rather mixing them in with what you normally see as tank rock.
My 2 cents anyway.
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Post by lonewolfrockhound on Feb 12, 2007 9:50:35 GMT -5
Watch out for copper based rocks such as chrsocholla and malachite - I would think they are bad news. Cinnabar, Daniel?? Probably too soft to tumble - plus it also has the sulpher. I recently ID'd a piece of calcite with a streak of cinnabar in it, so, it may well be that some rocks which might seem ok, might not really. However, calcite has already been determined to be a bad alternative since it is reactive to lower pH.
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181lizard
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Post by 181lizard on Feb 12, 2007 13:46:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the info all. I was aware of the situations w/metallic type rocks & knew about cinnabar & such...BUT...the calcite, I didn't know! Makes sense about the poo poo filtering ! (crackin me up!) But I'm only going to give them enough stones to enhance their tanks....not to do a total landscape!
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Post by lonewolfrockhound on Feb 12, 2007 14:19:15 GMT -5
Yes! Use them the way you would spice. You want them to accentuate....not dominate.
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djalley
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2007
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Post by djalley on Feb 12, 2007 19:36:30 GMT -5
I used to be big into aquariums and worked at a couple pet stores as a kid.
Mostly, things have been covered here. Aquarium rocks are mostly for filtration (even without an undergravel filter) and decoration. The three things you'll want to watch out for are pH level, contaminants, and filtration ability.
pH levels: I've seen a lot of people use lava rocks in aquariums. They tend to alter the pH level and it's important to have a fish that can take that range if you're set on having it. Since you're asking about tumbled rocks, I'm assuming you don't mean lava, but you will want to do some research to find if certain rocks have a pH value they will impose on the system as a whole. Cross reference that with what certain fish like and you have a selection you can go with.
Contaminants: One of the more unhealthy things I've seen is people using coral in a freshwater aquarium. The absence of salt in the water allows for the calcium from the coral to leech out and into the water. Not only is this bad for most freshwater filters, it's unhealthy for the fish, who's gills have to strain out oxygen from this water. Similarly, the rocks you use should be chemically inert with regard to the water you're using, or the fish should be accustomed to whatever leeches out of the rocks. My understanding is that quartz and agate are very chemically inert, but the people on this forum probably know better from a rock standpoint than me from an aquarium standpoint.
Lastly, the rocks play a huge factor in filtration. Most likely, you're using an undergravel filter, but even if not, the rocks harbor the bacteria necessary to break down the waste. The more surface area, the better. Like mentioned before, a mix of sizes is best to help trap any type of waste that may be... dropped. Also, most people use a Dip Siphon to clean the rocks when changing the water. It is basically a large tube (about 2 inches wide), which attaches to a normal 1/2 inch hose. Because the water velocity in the wide tube is low, you put it in and stir up the rocks. The built up waste and excess debris is siphoned out, but the water velocity is not fast enough to suck up whole rocks. Make sure the rocks you put in aren't so light that they'll be pulled up into the siphon too easily.
Hope this helps! Don
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Post by BAZ on Feb 12, 2007 19:59:48 GMT -5
Jade might be a bad idea too in a fresh water aquarium, doesn't that mostly occur in oceans? I think it was mentioned but copper based rocks like Malachite/Azurite seem like a no-no also.
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Post by sandsman1 on Feb 14, 2007 0:36:05 GMT -5
i had two 50 gallon tanks going before and the store guys told me what ever you put in always check the Ph for acouple weeks every day and only use hard none porous rocks they only sold agate obsid and glass chunks for tanks they said most other stuff will ether raise the Ph too much or put toxic chems in the water -- so be careful you could wake up to a buncha floaters and some fish can get very expensive--- one more thing they said put what ever it is in a bucket or what not and let soak for a week flush with new water every day they even told me to do that with the big bags of rock they sold in the store stir it and empty and refill
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spacegold
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Post by spacegold on Feb 14, 2007 2:31:03 GMT -5
This is not the board for it, so it anyone wants to know how to set up a first class biological filter in an aquarium, PM me. For a few years I had over 120 stacks going, and so biofiltration was pretty important.
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