Iron Stone

[deannos]

I'm totally new, and am in the process of setting a tropical aquarium up. Can i use ironstone rocks in the tank, i can't find a definitive answer on whether you can or not. I have loads of this in the garden, with some nice looking pieces

 

[Lunar Jetman]

See your previous post with the same question http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/435971-hi-this-is-my-first-aquarium/

 

[deannos]

Hi, i did read that thread,.thanks. Here are a couple of pictures, i think its iron stone.

 

[Byron]

I can't confirm the rock in the photo, but I will say that the presence of iron is not advisable in the aquarium.  Iron and other metals in rock will leech out when submerged, and iron is a toxic heavy metal that can kill everything.  Obvously we add iron to planted tanks, but this is very minimal and it is taken up by the plants as a nutrient.  In excess, which might well occur here, it could be deadly.  Many such things are magnified within the confines of a closed system such as an aquarium.
 
Byron.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I can't confirm the rock in the photo, but I will say that the presence of iron is not advisable in the aquarium.  Iron and other metals in rock will leech out when submerged, and iron is a toxic heavy metal that can kill everything.  Obvously we add iron to planted tanks, but this is very minimal and it is taken up by the plants as a nutrient.  In excess, which might well occur here, it could be deadly.  Many such things are magnified within the confines of a closed system such as an aquarium.
 
Byron.

 
I've been using lateritic soils for almost half a year now in some of my tanks (fish tanks, reptile and invert tanks) and these contain iron too but haven't seen a single death since then. Naturally occuring metals in rocks as ores are normally safe unless processed but are generally not naturally found underwater except for gold and some other, so their usage is not well documented but I'll stick to mine being safe for now.

 

[deannos]

I'm not to sure what the rock is, so i played safe and got some slate. For the cost of a few pound i thought it wasn't worth taking a risk with the "ironstone".