I Bought This Rock For My Aquarium...

[darrel69]

as the title says... ive bought this rock for my fish tank. its been in a week now. it was the only one of its kind in a big crate with loads of plum slate rocks at my local garden centre. i bought two nice peices of plum slate along with this one that caught my eye. (alot cheaper than the rocks at my lfs !!)

however, i recently read that rocks containing metal elements mustn't be placed in an aquarium for obvious reasons. now im concerned about this rock because i have no idea what type it is ?!?! im worried it may leech something (metals, if owt!!) into my water the white bits on the rock seem abit crystal-like.

ive posted some pictures below. sorry if they may be a little low quality as they were took with my mobile phone. can anyone tell what kind of rock it is ? or tell if its safe ? help/advice appreciated. thanks !!

 

[Robotochan]

I wouldn't worry, the majority of the rock is made up of Quartz and the rest seems to be fine. You are really looking for rusty orange streaks which would suggest iron which isn't advisable to have in your tank

 

[guppy fan]

Put a drop or two of viniger on a part of you rock that isn't crystal, then put your ear next to the viniger drop. If you hear it fizzing than the rock has calcieum in it and is not sutible. The cristal part might be quartz which does not have calcieum in it. Sorry, but my computer won't let me see your rock.

 

[The-Wolf]

looks like that rock has some kind of gypsum on it, if so it isn't suitable

 

[paul_219]

Thats not for a tank i guess its huge.

 

[darrel69]

I wouldn't worry, the majority of the rock is made up of Quartz and the rest seems to be fine. You are really looking for rusty orange streaks which would suggest iron which isn't advisable to have in your tank

ok, thanks

Put a drop or two of viniger on a part of you rock that isn't crystal, then put your ear next to the viniger drop. If you hear it fizzing than the rock has calcieum in it and is not sutible. The cristal part might be quartz which does not have calcieum in it. Sorry, but my computer won't let me see your rock.

thats ok as ive got malawi cichlids which calcium rock is suitable for. im just worried about metals.

looks like that rock has some kind of gypsum on it, if so it isn't suitable

ok, thanks for replying, but what is gypsum ?

Thats not for a tank i guess its huge.

yea, i got it from my local garden centre... not a fish store

 

[dthoffsett]

ok, thanks for replying, but what is gypsum ?

[URL="http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum"]http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum[/URL]

 

[darrel69]

ok, thanks for replying, but what is gypsum ?

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

cheers, so its a mineral rock, but thats ok aint it ? its in with malawi's...

 

[dthoffsett]

If I recall the article correctly gypsum in it's pure form shouldn't be a problem, but when in the rock form that you have it combines with several other rock types which often contain metals that can be toxic to your fish.

I'm sure I saw it in the article somewhere. If you pm the-wolf I'm sure he could explain it more clearly than I can.

 

[darrel69]

If I recall the article correctly gypsum in it's pure form shouldn't be a problem, but when in the rock form that you have it combines with several other rock types which often contain metals that can be toxic to your fish.

I'm sure I saw it in the article somewhere. If you pm the-wolf I'm sure he could explain it more clearly than I can.

will do, thx

 

[The-Wolf]

looks like that rock has some kind of gypsum on it, if so it isn't suitable

the above was stated for a std community tank, as the OP has a rift lake set up
the gypsum shouldn't be a problem

PM replyed to Darrel

 

[Saedcantas]

Gypsum would be easily distinguished from Quartz by it's hardness, gypsum should be easy to scratch with a steel bladed knife whereas quartz wouldn't be.

Looks fine to me too

 

[darrel69]

ok cheers guys. i was just worried about any metals it may contain that could leech into my water ....

 

[james1971]

It would be a shame if you had to take it out for being unsuitable because it is a fine looking rock!!!