# How much rock?



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

First of all....i don't know if this is the right place to put this post. Moderators...pls move wherever you feel it belongs. 

When I set up my tank i put some egg crate at the bottom and put my rocks in, and then poured the sand around. I would like to put more rocks into it. it just doesn't feel like they have enough hiding places. i've got like 60lbs worth of limestone rocks. (got it for $.06/lb) i'll post a picture in a day or two when i get my ac adapter for my laptop. im just afraid that it would be too much weight if i were to put more rocks in. i don't want the aquarium to break from all the weight. i probably have about 30lbs worth of sand in it, plus the 60lb rock...plus the water. can i put more rocks? should i just swap them out for holey rock/lava rock/marco rock?  that's rock's expensive for my taste, that's why im thinking about trying the diy aragocrete.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

u can try pumice too, if you boil it for 10 minutes and then put it into ice cold water for 10 minutes it will sink but just barely, u could have a huge pile in your tank and even if it fell over it wouldnt do any damage, also adds insane amount of surface area for good bacteria


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

ive never heard of pumice before...where could i get it? is it cheap?


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

idk where to get it but its a common volcanic rock found all over the world so it shouldnt be too pricey, im looking to track some down myself
read about it here How To Setup a Rift Lake Aquarium
think i'll call this place tomorow - http://www.companylisting.ca/Great_Pacific_Pumice_Inc/default.aspx
heres their website http://www.pumice.ca/main/home.html


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

i googled it....and i found that you might be able to find it in garden supply stores. it'll be cheaper there than LFS. there's a few by my place so i'll check it out tomorrow. i'll also give burnco in langley a call and see if they've got some. after you boil the rocks in a pot...can you still reuse the pot for cooking?


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

yup u can, tell me if the burnco in langley sells the stuff 
that website i linked shows large blocks of it too for ornamental and landscaping purposes and they have the quarry so im thinking if they sell it thatd be cheapest


----------



## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

pumice is extremely sharp. Almost like glass sharpness.

You are right, landscaping stone stores do carry them. Pretty sure the one off marine drive near the big bend carries them.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i imagine after some slime and algae grows on it it wont be so sharp?


----------



## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

no.. They stay relatively sharp. Pretty common for landscape company to use them as fountain, not sure the exact word, in a pond because thy are easy to carve out to make a natural flow on the rock. If you don't have callus covered palm, you can get cut pretty easy. Not as easy as just holding on the pumice, but if you accidentally nick the pumice, you can get cut.

Unless I am thinking of a different stone that is porous and light weight. 2wheelx2 will have a better idea.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

pumice is the stuff chicks rub on their skin/feet to exfoliate u can find little chunks of it in bath and body shops


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

EDGE said:


> no.. They stay relatively sharp. Pretty common for landscape company to use them as fountain, not sure the exact word, in a pond because thy are easy to carve out to make a natural flow on the rock. If you don't have callus covered palm, you can get cut pretty easy. Not as easy as just holding on the pumice, but if you accidentally nick the pumice, you can get cut.
> 
> Unless I am thinking of a different stone that is porous and light weight. 2wheelx2 will have a better idea.


Nope, you're right EDGE. Pumice is volcanic glass. The reason it's so light is that the lava is ejected into water so it's cooled immediately (quenched), locking in the air bubble shapes. And yes, it's extremely abrasive. It would be safer to use vesicular (full of holes) basalt, which is cooled more slowly, but still has the gas bubble holes, so that it's bulk density is still light.

Because of it's low density and high void ratio, it's easy to sculpt. Essentially the surface of pumice is like fine grade sandpaper.


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

I looked this over, but in the "Best Answer" there says something about a "de-nitrifying effect" with pumice rock. it doesn't sound good.

Is it safe to put natural tufa rock in a fresh water aquarium?if not,why? - Yahoo! Answers


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Thanks for the info 2wheelsx2! you know where i could pick some of that stuff up...and is it expensive?


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

they sell some basalt in burnco according to their website. unfortunately....not at the langley location. i'll give them a call tomorrow and verify.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

de-nitrifying is what the bacteria in your filter do
would lava rock be less sharp Gary? i like the black color better anyways tbh
my holey rock was extremely sharp when i got it but the fish have never cut themselves that ive seen and its covered in slime/algae now, it looks white in the tank but when u take it out its more greenish, im not too worried about it tbh i dont have any scaleless fish


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

just called up burnco in langley up. spoke to someone named carl. they've got all those rocks:
basalt - ~.16/lb....varying sizes.
pumice - ~.45-50/lb...up to 18"
lavarock - max size is ~1.5" - ~.05/lb

Times are:
Monday to Friday 7:30 am – 4:00 pm; Closed Weekends and Holidays. they said they'll start opening up on saturdays in a month or so.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I am not sure what they are calling lava rock, but basalt is lava rock.  Anyway, it is not quenched and should be a lot less abrasive.

I think you can make any rock work, depending on the fish. I have over almost 300 lbs of rocks and gravel in my 125 gallon on eggcrate and I've never worried about it.


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

damn that's alot of rock! maybe i shouldn't worry so much about it, but now that you mentioned the basalt. im starting to like how it looks.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You can kind of see the rock work in this pic:









It's Mexico Bowl Rock (I have no idea what is is as it looks but I think it's a mix of basalt and sediments) and a bunch of river stones on a natural Estes gravel base. I've had it in there since I started the tank 5 years ago.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

yeah the black bassalt is nicer than the pumice i think should make the fish darker


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - setting up my tanganyikan tank with pics, lots of pics.

scroll all the way to the bottom. this guy's rock looks nice. anyone know what it is?


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It's basalt or what the landscaping places call lava rock.


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

yep i think thats what im gonna use, might put some flat pieces of slate up against the back not too, sure yet


----------



## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

In Alberta, the Burnco store carried a kind of rock call Rundle rock, because it is from Rundle mountain in AB. Very gorgeous looking for cichlid tank. Not sure if they are available in BC


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Origin of Rundle rock landscape stone

Sounds like a siltstone/sandstone. I just googled Rundle Rock and a lot of stuff popped up, but I didn't go through it all.


----------



## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

Last I heard, rundle has some buffering capacity. The stones I have had for 15 years hasn't really done much in terms of buffering and is still holding it shapes after all these years.

I am not surprise about the mineral content though. Rundle mountain is part of the river runoff that feeds Calgary water supply.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's the thing about sedimentary rock. It varies from rock to rock. It also depends on the origin of the sediments that were transported and also the environment of deposition. They can have little to no carbonate, or be calcareous. That's why I tell people to stay away from sandstones and siltstones unless they know their rocks as there could be nasty surprises in it, including arsenopyrite and other minerals not only toxic to fish, but not too great for humans either.


----------

