Rosy Cloud Rocks...Thoughts?

[brokenoob!]

Hey all! I'm setting up a 10g nano tank right now and found these beauuuutiful looking rocks called "Rosy Cloud Rocks" from Petco, brought them home, rinsed them well in hot water and just plopped them in my tank.

I'm really new to this hobby so I didn't even know that rocks can change pH and hardness--and my source water is already wicked hard so I'm wondering: does anyone know if rosy cloud rocks raise pH? If so, should I just take the rocks out and do a big water change or do I have to essentially break down the whole tank?

I think it's also worth mentioning that after I treat this piece of mopani wood I have, that's going in the tank as well so perhaps it would balance out a raised pH from the rocks? I've attached both a product photo and a pic of the rocks in my tank to give you a better idea. Let me know if I can provide any more info to make answering this easier!

 

[Colin_T]

The rocks are unlikely to affect the pH but you can check this by removing the rock, drying it and pouring some white vinegar on the rock. If it fizzles and foams up, the rock is calcium based and will raise the pH. If the vinegar does not foam up on the rock, it will not affect the pH.

How are you treating the driftwood?
Normally you rinse the wood and soak it in a bucket of tap water until it sinks, then rinse the wood again and put it in the tank.

 

[brokenoob!]

The rocks are unlikely to affect the pH but you can check this by removing the rock, drying it and pouring some white vinegar on the rock. If it fizzles and foams up, the rock is calcium based and will raise the pH. If the vinegar does not foam up on the rock, it will not affect the pH.

How are you treating the driftwood?
Normally you rinse the wood and soak it in a bucket of tap water until it sinks, then rinse the wood again and put it in the tank.

Great!! I will try that vinegar trick now, thanks. I have a pretty large piece of wood so I was told to boil it a few times (while soaking it in room temp water for 16 hours in between) to get rid of most of the tannins. HOWEVER, I was told if a fungus develops in between during soaks, to not boil it anymore because it can turn the fungus into something toxic. After 3 boiling cycles, sure enough, a fungus developed so I am sticking to just soaking for now--I heard the fungus isn't toxic to the fish and that snails like to eat it so I'm not too concerned, but maybe I've been mislead?

 

[Colin_T]

Fungus on driftwood can be poisonous to fish and other inhabitants.

If there is fungus on the wood, take the wood outside and hose it off, then put it in a clean bucket of tap water. If more fungus appears, hose it off again. Eventually it should stop producing fungus and then you can add the wood to the tank.

There's no need to boil driftwood.

 

[Byron]

I would never boil wood. It really does nothing beneficial, and it will cause the wood to break down faster, which means rot sooner. I don't mean this week or next, but boiling is said to break the wood fibers apart.

Tannins are not bad, in fact they can be beneficial to fish. And wood will eventually be rid of most of them.

As for the fungus, it may or may not be toxic and there is no way to know without a microscopic test by a microbiologist to determine the species. Fungus (looks more like mold or slime sometimes) from woods like grapewood and spiderwood can indeed be toxic, I know of people who lost fish and I almost did once.

 

[Guppy10]

Looks like the Rock is quartz based so will be ok. I've seen it for sale as aquarium rock before.

 

[brokenoob!]

I would never boil wood. It really does nothing beneficial, and it will cause the wood to break down faster, which means rot sooner. I don't mean this week or next, but boiling is said to break the wood fibers apart.

Tannins are not bad, in fact they can be beneficial to fish. And wood will eventually be rid of most of them.

As for the fungus, it may or may not be toxic and there is no way to know without a microscopic test by a microbiologist to determine the species. Fungus (looks more like mold or slime sometimes) from woods like grapewood and spiderwood can indeed be toxic, I know of people who lost fish and I almost did once.

Jeez really Good thing it was only $13 thank god. I'm really surprised to hear that, I've been on sooo many fishkeeping forums that instruct to boil the wood beforehand just so it doesn't affect water color too much! Thanks for letting me know