FishProfiles.com Message Forums |
faq | etiquette | register | my account | search | mailbox |
Are coloured stones ok in a tank??? | |
TravelingGypsy Hobbyist Posts: 60 Kudos: 11 Votes: 0 Registered: 02-Aug-2006 | Esp if its a tropical tank i am not talking about the flouro but the pebble type ones, I have heard that the blue ones can effect the water???? They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive. |
Posted 01-Oct-2008 10:52 | |
keithgh *Ultimate Fish Guru* Posts: 6371 Kudos: 6918 Votes: 1542 Registered: 26-Apr-2003 | No coloured stones should effect the water providing they are made for Aquariums. Now saying all that some coloured stones can give of a lot of glare and this is unnatural and "could" possibly effect the fish. If the stones are too big the waste matter can get between them and make it rather difficult to clean the tank BUT that has nothing to do with the colour of the stones. If you are wanting to grow plants which is always advisable a good natural coloured river pebbles 1-3mm to the depth of 3-4ins is always the best. Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info Look here for my Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos Keith Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do. I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT? VOTE NOW VOTE NOW |
Posted 01-Oct-2008 11:12 | |
Hooben Big Fish Posts: 346 Kudos: 219 Registered: 27-Oct-2002 | The blue stones look great and change the water into a realy cool looking hue. Just rinse and you should be good to go. ________________________________________ The calming qualities of a good aquarium are irrefutable |
Posted 03-Oct-2008 05:35 | |
FRANK Moderator Posts: 5108 Kudos: 5263 Votes: 1690 Registered: 28-Dec-2002 | Hi, I'm not sure what rocks you are asking about. "flouro" or "pebble"??? Are you talking about colored aquarium gravel? Are you talking about rocks that you have found out in a field? Colored aquarium is generally regular gravel that has been painted with an epoxy paint and is considered safe for tanks. The paint is inert as are the rocks so the water is unaffected. In this case, "safe" means that the paint (color) will not fade, nor leach out into the water. If you are talking about natural rocks, Azurite and Malachite are blue and green (in that order). These are copper ores and will leach copper into the water and will gradually fade in color. The leaching of copper into the tank will eventually become toxic to both plants and fish. Generally, when talking about "affecting water" most refer to the tendency for carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomite, or coral, to increase the hardness and pH of the water. These rocks are most commonly used in tanks that house the African Rift fish that require water hard water with a pH in the 8's. If you are keeping fish that prefer a pH in the 6s and 7s then you don't want to have those rocks in your tank as the water will be constantly shifting up-wards and will require constant water changes to keep the values down. "Safe" rocks are generally any of the Silicates, such as Quartz, and some types of petrified wood. Sandstones, where the "glue" is silica is safe. If the glue is a carbonate, it is not "safe" and over time the carbonate dissolves into the tank increasing the hardness and pH while the grains of sand fall to the bottom. Other safe rocks would generally be igneous rocks such as lava. Other igneous rocks such as basalt, would be safe but are generally too dense and weigh considerably more than a similar size piece of scoria (a type of lava). Some me safe. Slate starts out life as shale which is sedimentary and can contain kerogens (oil) that will leach out into the tank an can create quite a mess. The process by which shale becomes slate removes the kerogens and the resulting rock, slate, is quite safe for any tank. Many rocks are ores of some heavy me that ore into the water such as ores of iron, lead, copper, etc. You do NOT want them in your tank as they eventually will become toxic as I mentioned above with copper. Hope this helps... Frank -->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<-- |
Posted 03-Oct-2008 16:09 |
Jump to: |
The views expressed on this page are the implied opinions of their respective authors.
Under no circumstances do the comments on this page represent the opinions of the staff of FishProfiles.com.
FishProfiles.com Forums, version 11.0
Mazeguy Smilies