Rocks, slate, wood

[777james777]

I have had a tank now for almost 2 years.

160 litres and home to cardinal tetras honey gourami, rummy nose and a large shrimp.

I have lots of plants and some ornaments (the plastic fake kind)

I REALLY want some real rocks or wood or slate, something more real. But im
Concerned what they do to the water,

any advice?

 

[Archerfish]

I have used slate for many years with no affect on the water quality. It is great for breeding Angels. Rocks in general need to be checked first to ensure they don't alter the water. Granite is harmless. You can take a rock and pour some vinegar on it to see if there is any fizz. If so, pass it up. Get something like Mopani wood for your tank.

 

[Uberhoust]

If you get slate just check it doesn't have pyrite crystals in it, otherwise it is a normally safe chose. Some slates have a lot of pyrite crystals in them. I typically like metamorphic rocks in general as they have nicer shapes.

 

[Nells250]

I have little slate "bridges" I made in two little betta tanks, and there haven't been any problems. This slate is from a local quarry that stopped being used in the early 1900s!! That makes it very easy to find small, tank-friendly specimens. I DID, though, boil them in water just in case.

 

[777james777]

If you get slate just check it doesn't have pyrite crystals in it, otherwise it is a normally safe chose. Some slates have a lot of pyrite crystals in them. I typically like metamorphic rocks in general as they have nicer shapes.

How would I know what pyrite crystals are, Iv seen quite a bit about not putting slate in

 

[777james777]

I have used slate for many years with no affect on the water quality. It is great for breeding Angels. Rocks in general need to be checked first to ensure they don't alter the water. Granite is harmless. You can take a rock and pour some vinegar on it to see if there is any fizz. If so, pass it up. Get something like Mopani wood for your tank.

All I’m seeing on google and YouTube is not to get this wood as it causes issues. There’s a lot of mixed views when it come to tanks im
Finding

 

[FranciscoB]

Carbonate rocks (would fizz during test with acid) should be avoided unless with harder water, and higher pH-loving fish. Most igneous rocks are fine. Some metamorphic rocks are fine, except if they are metamorphic forms of carbonate rocks.
Pyrite is fool’s gold, evident as golden chunks (crystals) on the slate slabs.

 

[777james777]

When you say “fools gold” do you mean it’s a worthless investment, or “you can’t go wrong with it”

Slate was what I really wanted, so are you saying as long as there are no golden chunks on slate then it’s okay?

 

[Essjay]

I've used slate over the years to make caves when I've had fish that liked caves. The slate I used had no crystals of any colour and they were fine, no problems.

I've also used mopani wood again with no problem. The only wood I've had issue with was one of those branched types which grew a lot of white slime during soaking and it turned the water very cloudy. I didn't put that in my tank.
Wood will float when first bought. I soak it in water till it sinks before putting it in the tank. Other people tie it to rock to hold it down till it's completely waterlogged or screw it to a rock using a marine grade screw (which shouldn't rust under water)

Some types of wood release a lot of tannins and will turn the water brownish. This is not harmful for fish, but some fish keepers don't like the colour.

 

[Velvetgun]

I have little slate "bridges" I made in two little betta tanks, and there haven't been any problems. This slate is from a local quarry that stopped being used in the early 1900s!! That makes it very easy to find small, tank-friendly specimens. I DID, though, boil them in water just in case.

I wanted to do the same by creating caves! Do you have photos of your creation? Did you use aquarium glue?

 

[Uberhoust]

I have never had issues with slate. Just make sure there are not large, small, gold colored cubes in it.

Fools Gold is essentially worthless, Iron Sulfide, although normally insoluble in water, other processes seem to cause it to break down releasing sulfur into the water and dropping the pH. I am not a chemist so I cannot give you the exact process.

 

[Lateral Line]

A large building not far from my house had a slate roof. It was demolished to make room for a larger building on the site. I collected masses of slate for use in my living room tanks, siliconed into walls for substrate level modifiers etc. good stuff. Would just comment that where broken, the edges can be very sharp, so file them into a more rounded shape.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have had a tank now for almost 2 years.

160 litres and home to cardinal tetras honey gourami, rummy nose and a large shrimp.

I have lots of plants and some ornaments (the plastic fake kind)

I REALLY want some real rocks or wood or slate, something more real. But im
Concerned what they do to the water,

any advice?

River rock is pH neutral.
Don't buy it at fish stores though. Go to a home and garden center and get it there. Much cheaper that way.

 

[Nells250]

I wanted to do the same by creating caves! Do you have photos of your creation? Did you use aquarium glue?

I thought I took photos when I made them, but I can't find any. The first one wasn't thought out well... the two "legs" were made up of small bits, and one of them kept detaching. Too small of a connection for a good bond. BUT it is still in Tank #1 with Betsy the betta. The second attempt was more robust, and is in Tank #2.

Not the best photos...

I used D-D The Aquarium Solution - Aquascape Epoxy (Rock Grey Color). You knead together two equal parts and make a putty that has a set cure time. I did a pretty sloppy job, as you can see, but if you plan better than I did, the stuff does indeed bond the slate.

 

[Nells250]

Would just comment that where broken, the edges can be very sharp, so file them into a more rounded shape.

VERY good advice. Slate roofing is no doubt more solid than what I use, which is very easy to sand down.