Sounds a lot like one of my AP classes from last year (Environmental Science) We actually did a test with 4 tanks in the class with nothing but water in one as a control, sandstone and limestone in another, Quartz and Diorite in another, and lava rock in the last, to check which affects the water parameters the most.
@@Lisa.Sparkman Only the tanks with Sandstone or Limestone affected water parameters. The tanks with quartz, diorite (or any relative of granite), or lava rock had no affected parameters. :)
In Colorado, I found a sizable petrified wood log fully made up of a brown jasper like quartz in a creek bed that I put in my 50 gal. It seems like it's good as all of it is glassy in texture, but you were talking about the cracks in fossils that hold algae and bacteria. It is doing well and my fish are doing well so I think all is good. But yeah, cracks
totally or siltstone with lime/sodaash or even coal and charcoal in it. That crystalized mineral stone of anything 40 million years or older is quartz or calcite and stable
I used quartz stones I got from New Hampshire years ago (clear, smokey, pink ,and amethyst, all between 1-5 lbs. and two fist sized or smaller.). I also used quartz based polished stones (agate, jasper, chert mostly) as accent pieces. I even had a broken open geode. I also used thin slate sheets to support substrate like people use plastic pieces to prevent erosion and substrate slumping of mounded areas.
This was the most informative rock video ever. And I am sad about all my awesome inappropriate rocks, lol (we have beautiful limestone and sandstone in my area, I think I'm probably down to a piece of porphery I picked up at the Hoh. 😄 Wish me luck on the agate front, it happens here.
Why thank you! I try to keep most my videos (non-livestreams) fairly educational and have over 400 videos if you ever want to dig deeper into these subjects. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Just about to watch the others on this subject…. A quick question tho, is there a good alternative to lava rock that is lighter? I will need to purchase rock online for my next project and thinking of postage costs…. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. I love it ❤️🇦🇺
Bro thank you so much for these videos. I'm about saving a buck and cutting corners only if its not going to hurt my fishes. I try my hardest to give them natural wild setting and give them a chance to get back to their roots,lol. My goal is to have each one of my 11 betta tanks to be completely self sustaining. None of them have man made filters, they have no heaters They do not need them in my place its always 80 in my 4th floor apartment. In fact I cant have gold fish it gets to warm in here and as I understans it they do not like above 78. I'm throwing togetger another nano soil planted tank today. I normally only use lava rock, slate, and petrified wood, Granite rock from my lake shore line. I boil water and soak them in it with vingar if any of them bubble I pull them and do not use them. I do have slate that is stained brownish red. I'm glad I didnt use it. I hace so many that I thought I could use that need to be set free to be wild rocks again.
I live in BC Canada, I've used lots of different rocks I've found. I have a couple of tanks that I used sand out of the fraser river. Full of pyrite. Did not affect my parameters at all, even though people say pyrite is a no no. I used limestone before, that can change PH quite a bit. But honestly, nothing else has. 🤷♂️
Most informative video of aquarium rocks I've seen yet. I do have a question about some rocks I found. I live in Ohio. Not to many volcanoes here. But I found what looks like lava rocks. Very porous looks like a sponge. Except they are dark grey. I'd like to attach plants to them but I have no idea what they are. Any ideas?
hi man, you can use that rock because it may be igneous porous scoria. if the stone surface is feel like sandy and rough feeling and you can see grain in that rock,it is the sandstone.
I'm lucky in that my local area has granites (red and grey varieties) in abundance so I can collect river or sea worn granite. There is also a sedimentary rock of a Devonian slate variety which in general is solid enough to be aquarium safe. The other common stone is a kind of limestone which I imagine isn't aquarium safe.
England, UK. Actually Devon, where the Devonian Era was named after. Although the granite is Carboniferous in date and broke through the earlier shales.
Hey so I’m looking for some help your video was the best I found so far other than just googling constant rocks and stones and what to do. I put a lot of stones in my fish tanks and I just found out it was bad now I don’t know what to do I’m trying to figure out which ones to take out which ones I can leave and what to do to restore my water if there’s any tips or any help or another video or a link anything helps. I had to fish die and I’m devastated that it’s my fault I was just trying to make their tank beautiful
Usually fish shouldn't die from rocks. Its likely that you have no dense substrate like sand or soil under that...so the fish poop builds up between rocks and ammonia goes high. I would need to know your tank size... the water parameters (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, tds , temp and gh/kh to help you sort it out). I mean it could also be something like motor oil on the stone, or pesticides or fertalizers. Short of that...the only super dangerous stone you'd probably encounter would be high in copper, sulphur, lead or mercury ... but thats pretty rare also. Its usually a slow process of the tank becoming more and more basic and tds rising until its very cloudy and salt/ calcium/ carbon saturated from say limestone or salt stone
Hi Alex. Thank you for your video. NO else describes in detail how to know if your rock is safe for an aquarium. I have collected so many beautiful rocks over the years at a bay. I was hoping to incorporate them in my new larger fish tank. I eliminated a few rocks right away. It’s a shame. So many of the ones that look richer when wet are not safe. Can they be coated with something that will make them safe? Thanks again. Crystals, geos, and pink quartz is safe?
I live in an area where the soil is contaminated with leaf and arsenic from an old smelter plant, will the good rocks you mentioned be hard enough that they didn’t absorb the heavy metals?
Mercury and lead could still absorb things...any rock at 7.0 or higher on the mohs scale... granite or basalt probably won't absorb that stuff, but I'd be hesitant to use anything from ground zero of the actually site of spillage. Arsenic Is an issue for substrate but not so much for rock...unless it's actual cinnabar ore that was mined for mercury or arsenic
Nice sharing! Can I send a picture of a really cool looking rock that you can perhaps identify? Geology was a long time ago! Its slick and smooth dark and dark green but not seeming to be porous?
I just bought some snowflake obsidian for my new 10 gallon. I researched a lot, considered lava rock, seiryu, cichlid "holey" stone, or even shungite (as it is used to filter and clarify water in Russia, but contrasting I heard if it ends in 'ite' it's not safe.) I really wanted a dark black that wasn't river rock, but also something safe for betta's delicate fins. I know I'll have to sand all the edges but it's really pretty. I'm also gonna be paying off it for two months. Meh. Why are rocks so expensive? Lol. $70 for 18lbs. ( I prolly won't use all of it.)
I have two rocks that came from my back yard. I think they are sedimentary rocks, but do not know for sure. They are brown, porous, and have smaller rock embedded. They have been in the tank since I started it about 4 weeks ago, and my plecos seem to like them. What do you think?
So that is basically limestone with magnesium in it. So it will harden your water (if you have water that is under 7.0 then you could add some for cichlids or most livebearers...otherwise it could cause tetras, and most jungle river dwelling fish, to have a harder time in the more alkaline water. Best of luck though!
Watch my newer video on aquarium safe Stones from a 6 month or a year ago... I made a list of like 20 safe stones...really limestone, corals, fossils, shells, siltstone or copper rich stone are the only common ones to avoid
I hear you can only put certain types of rocks that don't contain carbon like elephant skin rock in your shrimp tanks. Stick with lava, slate, pea gravel. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Sort of... carbon is not the issue, but rather calcium carbonate, limestone materials or salts, and of course heavy metals. The main issue is worrying about raising the tds or having copper/lead too much iron and killing off creatures like shrimp and some low ph fish. I actually have a whole video on the rocks you can use and general rules on spotting the correct types. In reality, most rocks are safe and won't effect the water much unless they have pesticides or pollutants on them (oil etc. Next to a roadway or boat marina). Igneous rocks are generally safe, granite, and hard stones without white banding are safe, and non -silt or limestone sedimentary rocks are mostly safe (but some will break down and slowly raise tds). The only carbon that is an issue is when you see shells or that graphite color of metalic black, flakey or crumbly layered types of stone...in which case, they can also make medications and chemical additives less effective. Good luck!
I know this is an old video, but I’m going to try anyways. I have no kH in my tank and very soft water. I have a beta and he seems fine. My plants are not dead ( yet🤞 ) I’d like to and a type of stone to naturally up those values. Any ideas what would be helpful? Really hoping this is seen.
Limestone! :) any sort of limestone of crushed coral/shells as substrate will boost it fast. Just watch that the ph doesn't go too much over 7.4 or so for the betta. Best of luck!
I have access to stone used to line fences on commercial properties. I don't know what kind of rocks they are but muriatic acid doesn't fizz yet they can be scratched with a knife. Can it be used being that it passed the acid test?
How do you know what rocks i have? They may look alike, but perhaps mine are from the side of the road and covered in heavy metals or pesticides....or maybe there's an asbestos and cinnabar inclusion on this section of the formation? You need to assess each stone, case by case.
Hi I got red laterite rock from beach but i do not know if i can use it in my fish aquarium (not planted). I can understand the red color in stone is due to iron...but is it safe? Please help
Its likely safe. Iron isn't a metal to worry about. Green from copper or crusty goldenrod/yellow from some sort of sulfur, arsenic or cinnebar are the ones that could quickly cause health issues. Red isn't always iron, but as you say, commonly- it is an indication of iron in stone if its been exposed to water and oxygen for quite some time. Id say clean it thoroughly, and you're likely gonna be fine
Hi. Can I ask what your stance is on woodstone and dragon stone? In this video you say anything with "stone" in the name it's not that good but where does that leave these types of stones? I've been researching on high about these stones but get so little information about the good an bad. I have a community tank, betta tank an goldfish, I had some woodstone in the community tank for a while but it grew angel hair so I put it in my betta tank (after a good cleaning) but soon after I lost one of my bettas, it looked like dropsy (got quite bulbous around the belly/head area) but it was quite sudden too so I'm worried that it was something from the stones. I also got some small pieces of dragon stone an they went into the community tank to replace the wood stone an I haven't noticed a change in there so I wanted to get some bigger pieces for landscaping my goldfish tank but I'm starting to doubt the safety of that now. I considered the woodstone for the goldfish too but worried about what happened to zazoo happening to the goldfish. I also saw these beautiful stones at my LPS that are white an have large holes running throughout, it didn't appear porous, closest thing I can find to the look is ocean stone but I don't think that's correct either. I'm at a complete loss. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I suggest anything thats hard and has smooth or crystalline texture. But i have video exactly on the topic of dragonstone that i suggest you watch if you search my own videos.
@@Fishtory OK that jus left me with more questions. No matter what I type or where I look I can't seem to get anything specific about the safety of these rocks. I know there's so much information about it an it's all based on different conditions but it's becoming so frustrating. I really like the look of them in the tank but the constant worry that it's hurting my fish is overpowering. I wish I could send u photos of what I have so u could see better. I got all the dragon stone from the same source yet one piece is sort of yellow orange with patches of red/brown an the other 3 are a dark clay colour so does this mean I have different grades in there? Also my glitter wood rock seems to have a lot of red/orange streaks Mottled throughout the pieces. Does this mean there is a bad mineral in there like copper? Is it rust? I'm so confused 😕 I jus want nice rocks an a natural set up but this is hurting my brain
@@InspirationalExploration join the Facebook group if you are on facebook. Then you can upload some photos and i can help you more. I would need a clear photo of the stone surface up close and in focus, and then a few normal photos of the stones. My guess is that your stone and the clay of it wont necessarily hurt most fish (what species are in the tank?) Most likey dragonstone and silt/clay based stones like sandstone or dragon, will raise the TDS, potentially leech some iron at a safe rate (unless its bright orange or red fakes or layers (with white calcium) also on the stone. Copper is usually a distinct green (think the statue of liberty color). All that said, without looking, my guess is your tds may rise overtime and your water may start to raise the hardness, which can change ph up to .5 ( 7.0 ends up 7.5 for example)... in my experience. Good for guppie, swordtails platties and endlers endlers-as well as cichlids....but not as healthy for tetras or soft water loving fish. Goodluck though!
@@Fishtory wow that was really helpful thanks so much I will definitely join the fb page an send u some photos for better clarity. I have quite a variety of fish in the communal tank, there's 4 various types of tetra so will now be on the watch with them for any problems that could be the cause of stone related poisoning. I have gourami 3 spot, honey (due to mating in the summer I ended up with alot of honeys which was crazy an I had to rehome as many as I could) and pearls. Sydontis, clowns, corys, apistogramma cichlids (which keep breeding like rabbits as well!!) silver hatchets, black phantoms, a candy stripped plex an a few ottos. Tbh I've no idea if these are even supposed to be together in one group but I've only been at this for the last year an went on my LPS advice on what I had an I haven't experienced any deaths from fighting or sickness up until I put the rocks in an that was in the betta tank after I'd put in the wood stones. These stones had been in the communal tank for a few months prior to that change. But now I have the dragon stone in there (from about 2 weeks ago) an as I said previously wanted to start landscaping my goldfish tank with similar stones but with the death that followed I'm now majorly second guessing the stated "these rocks are fine anywhere" statement I seem to be told at my LFS. But I will get on to that Facebook page an send u some photos. Thanks again.
Quartz, granite, agate, sandstone, any hard crystal, basalt, marble, obsidian, serpentine, olivine, jasper, jade, rhodochricite, most claystones, and lava rock, amongst hundreds of others.
Hi I am new to the fish world and my mom got some rocks in North Carolina when she was gold mining she says they have ruby and some other nice stones inside of them but I and scared to put them in my tank because well I don’t want to kill my fish so should I just follow your tip to leave them in water for a month or so and see what I get with ph and all ?
Probably. I know it's a total pain in the butt, however if they came from a mine- often times they have lead, arsenic, copper or just raise tds and calcium. The mine may have washed the rocks in acidic solutions and cinnabar (which i believe had mercury and arsenic in it at gold mining facilities from 1930s and earlier.... so id be extra careful with mine tailings. Great question
The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium thank you for replying I really don’t wanna kill fish but the crystal rocks she gave me are beautiful a nice orange and white colored crystal so I will follow your tip and soak for a month and check the water !!! Love the video thanks again
I love gemstones. Do you have any recommendations for decoration in a 2.7 Gallon Betta tank? I have a rock and gem shop local to me that carries rough and polished stones of all kinds so I have access to potentially anything! Thanks for the super educational video =)
I wouldn't use polished stone, since it often has plastic bead finishing polish or a wax layer that bacteria interacts poorly with. But amethyst, rose quartz, smokey quartz, jade, garnet, obsidian, agate and most gems with a hardness above 6.5/7 on the mohs scale, will work very well
Outside the city is ideal. I mean you can go to lake Washington or the beach, but our waters have a substantial amount of industrial junk in them. Honestly, if you boil them in water and or bleach them, 99% of the hard rock will be fine, but with inverts like Taiwan Bee or fragile nano fish (loaches or filter feeders and surface cleaners)...that trace amount of copper cadnium, creosote or motor oil staining a rock (particularly any porous stone, which usually isn't stone you want to use around here, anyhow). Could be enough to hard or stress your fragile life stock. All that being said... if it's in a river or at a beach...golden gardens, discovery park, the green river parks (it was very polluted at one point though.) , Richmond Beach, magnuson park and you clean it well, then it's probably going to do fine. My favorite spot is the San Juan Islands or Skagit, Skykomish (Near the town of Index) or Bellingham based- Nooksack river...all have clean and wonderful stones ranging from jagged quartz and basalt to smooth jadeite and sandstone...id avoid limestone unless its an African Rift Lake Cichlid Tank, or guppy breeding tank. Also sandstone, siltstone and mica are all stones to avoid unless you really know what you're doing...so go got smooth, and hard with small to no visible grains/ crystallization - that's gonna have your Diorite, jade, jasper, granite and other great river rock stones. As for jagged ones, i usually find those up along mountain roads, like Snoqualmi Pass where they've blasted granite and then i use a sledge hammer or the pavement to smash more-smaller bits out if it, if need be
I collected some rocks from the shoreline in Port Townsend. Some look to be the diorite(sp) that you featured in the video, others look like they have a crystal streak in otherwise smooth black rock, while others appear to be smooth and solid black. Do you think that I might be able to use these for aquascapeing in my aquarium?
almost assuredly! i get mine there too or Whidbey, Bellingham, Sequim among other spots...i boil em briefly and then let em soak for 2 or 3 days to get salt off most... but black smooth stones that dont dry fast, are likely not porus and can be used straight away... jadite and basalt type stuff
Totally! Any hard rock or lava rock should do fine... so quartz, granite, pebbles, road gravel, fill gravel, basically anything but white (non quartz) stone...if it's powdery when scraped on the pavement and leaves a line of crumbled rock that's white...it likely has lime or calcium in it which messes with the ph
Some quartz based geodes are okay, but everyone is unique, and often times geodes are formed by water seeping into a void and minerals crystallizing, so make sure the crust of the geode is not coated in calcium, like or iron....I leave my stones in a bucket for a week or more and test the ph and TDS before and after
You can do sandstone and cheat fossils...or ones that are very petrified....just make sure it's not pure limestone or silt stone, those can kick up a 10 gallon's hardness and ph from like 7 to 8.5 in some cases. Cheers...test it in a bucket for a week
@@Fishtory I did the vinegar test. I saw maybe one spot blow a bubble or two… not sure if just air pocket of slight fizzing lol so we have kept them out. A lot of them r crystallizing…
Are you refering to some sort or error or Do you have a question about somethingI I do not have answers for most things. Anyone who thinks they understand a topic comepletely, clearly does not. If i don't know the answer or have a decent guess, im more than happy to admit it. However, a background in Archaeology requited i take almost another year because to begin to even start the PhD route you need credits that equal a minor in a wide range of subjects thay tie in nicely with fishkeeping or aquascaping. (geology, meteorology, anatomy, biology and anthropology) and I have an undergrad degree in History as well. So by that criteria alone, I'am no expert in anything but perhaps archaeology and tattooing. Hence if i plan to make a video on a topic, yes ill try to know what im talking about.
Also this is a basic overview...i discuss the difference in a rock that doesnt effect an Aquarium's chemistry and one that is fish safe, but changes the ph or iron etc. Such as seiryu (limestone or calcium banding) or Koke (silicates and possible heavy metals from unscrupulous dealers).
@@Fishtory Don't waste your time with this guy...there is always someone in an arm chair behind their device who think they can be nasty and insulting....thanks for your video I learned alot
From one rock lover to another this helped soo much
Right on, thanks for stopping by and commenting, my friend!
So stone in moist conditions with no sign of moss is a good choice.
This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌
Sounds a lot like one of my AP classes from last year (Environmental Science) We actually did a test with 4 tanks in the class with nothing but water in one as a control, sandstone and limestone in another, Quartz and Diorite in another, and lava rock in the last, to check which affects the water parameters the most.
Useful stuff! Now just figure out how to sneak fish keeping into your ciriculum!
That sounds fascinating!
What did you find out?
@@Lisa.Sparkman Only the tanks with Sandstone or Limestone affected water parameters. The tanks with quartz, diorite (or any relative of granite), or lava rock had no affected parameters. :)
@@MridulSinghMusic well that is good to know. Living in Oregon, we are full of silicate and volcanic rocks.
In Colorado, I found a sizable petrified wood log fully made up of a brown jasper like quartz in a creek bed that I put in my 50 gal. It seems like it's good as all of it is glassy in texture, but you were talking about the cracks in fossils that hold algae and bacteria. It is doing well and my fish are doing well so I think all is good. But yeah, cracks
totally or siltstone with lime/sodaash or even coal and charcoal in it. That crystalized mineral stone of anything 40 million years or older is quartz or calcite and stable
Really great information as always. Thanks for sharing and keep doing what you do if it works for you.
Thank you for the info! On the coast in Halifax, Canada and I am on the hunt now! Searching the coast lines to make my 55g beautiful! Keep it up!
awesome good luck and thanks for watching
great explanation, thanks 👍
You’re very wise bro! Thanks for sharing :-)
I used quartz stones I got from New Hampshire years ago (clear, smokey, pink ,and amethyst, all between 1-5 lbs. and two fist sized or smaller.). I also used quartz based polished stones (agate, jasper, chert mostly) as accent pieces. I even had a broken open geode. I also used thin slate sheets to support substrate like people use plastic pieces to prevent erosion and substrate slumping of mounded areas.
All great choices
Great Video! Tons of very useful information!
Glad to hear it. Thanks for watching!
This was the most informative rock video ever. And I am sad about all my awesome inappropriate rocks, lol (we have beautiful limestone and sandstone in my area, I think I'm probably down to a piece of porphery I picked up at the Hoh. 😄 Wish me luck on the agate front, it happens here.
Hahah well just keep livebearers or lake tanganykan fish and use all the limestone you want! 😉 🤣
Very informational video thanks for the brush up on geology
Why thank you! I try to keep most my videos (non-livestreams) fairly educational and have over 400 videos if you ever want to dig deeper into these subjects. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Just about to watch the others on this subject…. A quick question tho, is there a good alternative to lava rock that is lighter? I will need to purchase rock online for my next project and thinking of postage costs…. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. I love it ❤️🇦🇺
Pumice for sure :)
@@Fishtory cool, did t even think of that! Thanks heaps!❤️🇦🇺
I'm a member! 🎉🎉😊
Thank you so very much!
Bro thank you so much for these videos. I'm about saving a buck and cutting corners only if its not going to hurt my fishes. I try my hardest to give them natural wild setting and give them a chance to get back to their roots,lol. My goal is to have each one of my 11 betta tanks to be completely self sustaining. None of them have man made filters, they have no heaters They do not need them in my place its always 80 in my 4th floor apartment. In fact I cant have gold fish it gets to warm in here and as I understans it they do not like above 78. I'm throwing togetger another nano soil planted tank today. I normally only use lava rock, slate, and petrified wood, Granite rock from my lake shore line. I boil water and soak them in it with vingar if any of them bubble I pull them and do not use them. I do have slate that is stained brownish red. I'm glad I didnt use it. I hace so many that I thought I could use that need to be set free to be wild rocks again.
Awesome! That sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing
I live in BC Canada, I've used lots of different rocks I've found. I have a couple of tanks that I used sand out of the fraser river. Full of pyrite. Did not affect my parameters at all, even though people say pyrite is a no no. I used limestone before, that can change PH quite a bit. But honestly, nothing else has. 🤷♂️
Yeah mostly limestone are the issue...or copper in shrimp tanks...iron can raise tds but is harmless at that amount for fish
Most informative video of aquarium rocks I've seen yet. I do have a question about some rocks I found. I live in Ohio. Not to many volcanoes here. But I found what looks like lava rocks. Very porous looks like a sponge. Except they are dark grey. I'd like to attach plants to them but I have no idea what they are. Any ideas?
hi man,
you can use that rock because it may be igneous porous scoria.
if the stone surface is feel like sandy and rough feeling and you can see grain in that rock,it is the sandstone.
Igneous and or basalt lava rock is possible, and if it has no other small rocks in the matrix (pebbles) then id say it's most likely safe once boiled
Please do not, I repeat, do not boil big stones! They can explode! It doesn't happen often, but it happens and could be very dangerous.
I mention that but we're talking gravel and tiny stuff, ill still probably take my chances
Very informative 👍🫡
noooo the leaf rock was so cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very informative. I feel like a nerd. 👍🏻
Great video!
I'm lucky in that my local area has granites (red and grey varieties) in abundance so I can collect river or sea worn granite. There is also a sedimentary rock of a Devonian slate variety which in general is solid enough to be aquarium safe. The other common stone is a kind of limestone which I imagine isn't aquarium safe.
+jonstfrancis thats really lucky, are you 8n the rocky mountains or west coast then ?
England, UK. Actually Devon, where the Devonian Era was named after. Although the granite is Carboniferous in date and broke through the earlier shales.
+jonstfrancis ahhh great! You've got a bit od everything then heh. We have lots of granite, limestone, siltstone, quartz and jade here
Similar then, plenty of good stones for aquarium and garden and just interest.
The limestone would be good for hard water tanks for live bearers or african cichlids.
Hey so I’m looking for some help your video was the best I found so far other than just googling constant rocks and stones and what to do. I put a lot of stones in my fish tanks and I just found out it was bad now I don’t know what to do I’m trying to figure out which ones to take out which ones I can leave and what to do to restore my water if there’s any tips or any help or another video or a link anything helps. I had to fish die and I’m devastated that it’s my fault I was just trying to make their tank beautiful
Usually fish shouldn't die from rocks. Its likely that you have no dense substrate like sand or soil under that...so the fish poop builds up between rocks and ammonia goes high. I would need to know your tank size... the water parameters (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, tds , temp and gh/kh to help you sort it out). I mean it could also be something like motor oil on the stone, or pesticides or fertalizers.
Short of that...the only super dangerous stone you'd probably encounter would be high in copper, sulphur, lead or mercury ... but thats pretty rare also.
Its usually a slow process of the tank becoming more and more basic and tds rising until its very cloudy and salt/ calcium/ carbon saturated from say limestone or salt stone
How about rainforest polished stones from homedepo?
Yep those are all good to go...just rinse em
Thanks!
You bet! Thank you my friend!
Thank you
Thank you! And best of luck
Looks like ill be removing some rocks from my tank....... Thank yoU
Hope it helps whatever ails your tank!
@@Fishtory No major ailments! Just one of 4 black neon tetras swimming like he's sinking. I think he's late/slow to the feeding party usually.
then again, I only feed once a month since they eat the scuds and duckweed. So adjusting to give them more nutrients.
Hi Alex. Thank you for your video. NO else describes in detail how to know if your rock is safe for an aquarium. I have collected so many beautiful rocks over the years at a bay. I was hoping to incorporate them in my new larger fish tank. I eliminated a few rocks right away. It’s a shame. So many of the ones that look richer when wet are not safe. Can they be coated with something that will make them safe? Thanks again. Crystals, geos, and pink quartz is safe?
I live in an area where the soil is contaminated with leaf and arsenic from an old smelter plant, will the good rocks you mentioned be hard enough that they didn’t absorb the heavy metals?
Mercury and lead could still absorb things...any rock at 7.0 or higher on the mohs scale... granite or basalt probably won't absorb that stuff, but I'd be hesitant to use anything from ground zero of the actually site of spillage. Arsenic Is an issue for substrate but not so much for rock...unless it's actual cinnabar ore that was mined for mercury or arsenic
Nice sharing! Can I send a picture of a really cool looking rock that you can perhaps identify? Geology was a long time ago! Its slick and smooth dark and dark green but not seeming to be porous?
Sure. Send it to the Facebook group or my email alexanderjwilliamson@gmail.com
Any tips on how to identify rocks ?
I just bought some snowflake obsidian for my new 10 gallon. I researched a lot, considered lava rock, seiryu, cichlid "holey" stone, or even shungite (as it is used to filter and clarify water in Russia, but contrasting I heard if it ends in 'ite' it's not safe.) I really wanted a dark black that wasn't river rock, but also something safe for betta's delicate fins. I know I'll have to sand all the edges but it's really pretty. I'm also gonna be paying off it for two months. Meh. Why are rocks so expensive? Lol. $70 for 18lbs. ( I prolly won't use all of it.)
Obsidian is very beautiful...and totally inert in water :) best of luck to you!
I have two rocks that came from my back yard. I think they are sedimentary rocks, but do not know for sure. They are brown, porous, and have smaller rock embedded. They have been in the tank since I started it about 4 weeks ago, and my plecos seem to like them. What do you think?
Can you come to Europe and do a guide please, thanks ;)
me thought about water chemistry and dissapointed about it.
How about Mexican beach pebble ? I got some from the hardware store today cleaned them up and put them in my shrimp tank
Great stuff!
For the algorithm!!
Are goldfish hardy enough to survive in granite pebbles?
Definitely
Hey thanks for sharing I bought some Glitter QUARTZITE rocks please let me know if they are safe for a cichlid tank?
Dolostone? I have access to an old quarry with piles of the stuff. I can't find much info on it as a hardscape rock. Any thoughts?
So that is basically limestone with magnesium in it. So it will harden your water (if you have water that is under 7.0 then you could add some for cichlids or most livebearers...otherwise it could cause tetras, and most jungle river dwelling fish, to have a harder time in the more alkaline water. Best of luck though!
@@Fishtory got it, thanks! With our current water parameters that doesn't sound like a good match.
Fossils, all made in an instant, nothing less!
What about flagstone
Good to go
What’s your opinion on shale??
As long as it isnt slacked or literally oily or carbonically silty, its fine
So what other rocks outside R ok for my fish tank 🤔 other than the one u mentioned 🤔
Watch my newer video on aquarium safe Stones from a 6 month or a year ago... I made a list of like 20 safe stones...really limestone, corals, fossils, shells, siltstone or copper rich stone are the only common ones to avoid
Flagstone?
All good
Is pegmatite ok for a cichlid tank?
Totally
I hear you can only put certain types of rocks that don't contain carbon like elephant skin rock in your shrimp tanks.
Stick with lava, slate, pea gravel.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Sort of... carbon is not the issue, but rather calcium carbonate, limestone materials or salts, and of course heavy metals. The main issue is worrying about raising the tds or having copper/lead too much iron and killing off creatures like shrimp and some low ph fish. I actually have a whole video on the rocks you can use and general rules on spotting the correct types.
In reality, most rocks are safe and won't effect the water much unless they have pesticides or pollutants on them (oil etc. Next to a roadway or boat marina).
Igneous rocks are generally safe, granite, and hard stones without white banding are safe, and non -silt or limestone sedimentary rocks are mostly safe (but some will break down and slowly raise tds).
The only carbon that is an issue is when you see shells or that graphite color of metalic black, flakey or crumbly layered types of stone...in which case, they can also make medications and chemical additives less effective.
Good luck!
I know this is an old video, but I’m going to try anyways. I have no kH in my tank and very soft water. I have a beta and he seems fine. My plants are not dead ( yet🤞 ) I’d like to and a type of stone to naturally up those values. Any ideas what would be helpful? Really hoping this is seen.
Limestone! :) any sort of limestone of crushed coral/shells as substrate will boost it fast. Just watch that the ph doesn't go too much over 7.4 or so for the betta. Best of luck!
I used a concrete rock... will it still cycle? Or you think it will leach acids forever
Itll leach bases if anything actually. But depending on your tap water is not rock hard, itll probably be a slow process you can monitor over months
I have access to stone used to line fences on commercial properties. I don't know what kind of rocks they are but muriatic acid doesn't fizz yet they can be scratched with a knife. Can it be used being that it passed the acid test?
most likely yes.
those rocks are fine with your aquarium....... been using those 20 years already......
How do you know what rocks i have? They may look alike, but perhaps mine are from the side of the road and covered in heavy metals or pesticides....or maybe there's an asbestos and cinnabar inclusion on this section of the formation? You need to assess each stone, case by case.
@@Fishtory ofcourse you wash them first.. .(soaked then flushed with running water). then let it dry in the sun for a whole day.. then its fine......
So the lump of coal on my desk is a horrible idea but the metamorphic rock in my yard are good
Could I email you pictures of the stones I collected by my local river in Denver?
Hi
I got red laterite rock from beach but i do not know if i can use it in my fish aquarium (not planted). I can understand the red color in stone is due to iron...but is it safe? Please help
Its likely safe. Iron isn't a metal to worry about. Green from copper or crusty goldenrod/yellow from some sort of sulfur, arsenic or cinnebar are the ones that could quickly cause health issues. Red isn't always iron, but as you say, commonly- it is an indication of iron in stone if its been exposed to water and oxygen for quite some time. Id say clean it thoroughly, and you're likely gonna be fine
Hi. Can I ask what your stance is on woodstone and dragon stone? In this video you say anything with "stone" in the name it's not that good but where does that leave these types of stones?
I've been researching on high about these stones but get so little information about the good an bad. I have a community tank, betta tank an goldfish, I had some woodstone in the community tank for a while but it grew angel hair so I put it in my betta tank (after a good cleaning) but soon after I lost one of my bettas, it looked like dropsy (got quite bulbous around the belly/head area) but it was quite sudden too so I'm worried that it was something from the stones. I also got some small pieces of dragon stone an they went into the community tank to replace the wood stone an I haven't noticed a change in there so I wanted to get some bigger pieces for landscaping my goldfish tank but I'm starting to doubt the safety of that now. I considered the woodstone for the goldfish too but worried about what happened to zazoo happening to the goldfish.
I also saw these beautiful stones at my LPS that are white an have large holes running throughout, it didn't appear porous, closest thing I can find to the look is ocean stone but I don't think that's correct either. I'm at a complete loss. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I suggest anything thats hard and has smooth or crystalline texture. But i have video exactly on the topic of dragonstone that i suggest you watch if you search my own videos.
@@Fishtory OK great thanks I'll check that out.
@@Fishtory OK that jus left me with more questions. No matter what I type or where I look I can't seem to get anything specific about the safety of these rocks. I know there's so much information about it an it's all based on different conditions but it's becoming so frustrating. I really like the look of them in the tank but the constant worry that it's hurting my fish is overpowering.
I wish I could send u photos of what I have so u could see better. I got all the dragon stone from the same source yet one piece is sort of yellow orange with patches of red/brown an the other 3 are a dark clay colour so does this mean I have different grades in there?
Also my glitter wood rock seems to have a lot of red/orange streaks
Mottled throughout the pieces. Does this mean there is a bad mineral in there like copper? Is it rust?
I'm so confused 😕 I jus want nice rocks an a natural set up but this is hurting my brain
@@InspirationalExploration join the Facebook group if you are on facebook. Then you can upload some photos and i can help you more. I would need a clear photo of the stone surface up close and in focus, and then a few normal photos of the stones.
My guess is that your stone and the clay of it wont necessarily hurt most fish (what species are in the tank?)
Most likey dragonstone and silt/clay based stones like sandstone or dragon, will raise the TDS, potentially leech some iron at a safe rate (unless its bright orange or red fakes or layers (with white calcium) also on the stone. Copper is usually a distinct green (think the statue of liberty color).
All that said, without looking, my guess is your tds may rise overtime and your water may start to raise the hardness, which can change ph up to .5 ( 7.0 ends up 7.5 for example)... in my experience. Good for guppie, swordtails platties and endlers endlers-as well as cichlids....but not as healthy for tetras or soft water loving fish.
Goodluck though!
@@Fishtory wow that was really helpful thanks so much I will definitely join the fb page an send u some photos for better clarity.
I have quite a variety of fish in the communal tank, there's 4 various types of tetra so will now be on the watch with them for any problems that could be the cause of stone related poisoning. I have gourami 3 spot, honey (due to mating in the summer I ended up with alot of honeys which was crazy an I had to rehome as many as I could) and pearls. Sydontis, clowns, corys, apistogramma cichlids (which keep breeding like rabbits as well!!) silver hatchets, black phantoms, a candy stripped plex an a few ottos. Tbh I've no idea if these are even supposed to be together in one group but I've only been at this for the last year an went on my LPS advice on what I had an I haven't experienced any deaths from fighting or sickness up until I put the rocks in an that was in the betta tank after I'd put in the wood stones. These stones had been in the communal tank for a few months prior to that change. But now I have the dragon stone in there (from about 2 weeks ago) an as I said previously wanted to start landscaping my goldfish tank with similar stones but with the death that followed I'm now majorly second guessing the stated "these rocks are fine anywhere" statement I seem to be told at my LFS.
But I will get on to that Facebook page an send u some photos. Thanks again.
Can we get names of rock that are good
Quartz, granite, agate, sandstone, any hard crystal, basalt, marble, obsidian, serpentine, olivine, jasper, jade, rhodochricite, most claystones, and lava rock, amongst hundreds of others.
The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium thank you so much! I learned a lot from your video
Hi I am new to the fish world and my mom got some rocks in North Carolina when she was gold mining she says they have ruby and some other nice stones inside of them but I and scared to put them in my tank because well I don’t want to kill my fish so should I just follow your tip to leave them in water for a month or so and see what I get with ph and all ?
Probably. I know it's a total pain in the butt, however if they came from a mine- often times they have lead, arsenic, copper or just raise tds and calcium. The mine may have washed the rocks in acidic solutions and cinnabar (which i believe had mercury and arsenic in it at gold mining facilities from 1930s and earlier.... so id be extra careful with mine tailings.
Great question
The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium thank you for replying I really don’t wanna kill fish but the crystal rocks she gave me are beautiful a nice orange and white colored crystal so I will follow your tip and soak for a month and check the water !!! Love the video thanks again
I love gemstones. Do you have any recommendations for decoration in a 2.7 Gallon Betta tank? I have a rock and gem shop local to me that carries rough and polished stones of all kinds so I have access to potentially anything! Thanks for the super educational video =)
I wouldn't use polished stone, since it often has plastic bead finishing polish or a wax layer that bacteria interacts poorly with. But amethyst, rose quartz, smokey quartz, jade, garnet, obsidian, agate and most gems with a hardness above 6.5/7 on the mohs scale, will work very well
I’m also from Seattle, you know of a good area to collect rocks?
Outside the city is ideal. I mean you can go to lake Washington or the beach, but our waters have a substantial amount of industrial junk in them. Honestly, if you boil them in water and or bleach them, 99% of the hard rock will be fine, but with inverts like Taiwan Bee or fragile nano fish (loaches or filter feeders and surface cleaners)...that trace amount of copper cadnium, creosote or motor oil staining a rock (particularly any porous stone, which usually isn't stone you want to use around here, anyhow). Could be enough to hard or stress your fragile life stock.
All that being said... if it's in a river or at a beach...golden gardens, discovery park, the green river parks (it was very polluted at one point though.) , Richmond Beach, magnuson park and you clean it well, then it's probably going to do fine.
My favorite spot is the San Juan Islands or Skagit, Skykomish (Near the town of Index) or Bellingham based- Nooksack river...all have clean and wonderful stones ranging from jagged quartz and basalt to smooth jadeite and sandstone...id avoid limestone unless its an African Rift Lake Cichlid Tank, or guppy breeding tank. Also sandstone, siltstone and mica are all stones to avoid unless you really know what you're doing...so go got smooth, and hard with small to no visible grains/ crystallization - that's gonna have your Diorite, jade, jasper, granite and other great river rock stones. As for jagged ones, i usually find those up along mountain roads, like Snoqualmi Pass where they've blasted granite and then i use a sledge hammer or the pavement to smash more-smaller bits out if it, if need be
I collected some rocks from the shoreline in Port Townsend. Some look to be the diorite(sp) that you featured in the video, others look like they have a crystal streak in otherwise smooth black rock, while others appear to be smooth and solid black.
Do you think that I might be able to use these for aquascapeing in my aquarium?
almost assuredly! i get mine there too or Whidbey, Bellingham, Sequim among other spots...i boil em briefly and then let em soak for 2 or 3 days to get salt off most... but black smooth stones that dont dry fast, are likely not porus and can be used straight away... jadite and basalt type stuff
is there any Rock I can buy from Home Depot for saltwater fish thank you
Totally! Any hard rock or lava rock should do fine... so quartz, granite, pebbles, road gravel, fill gravel, basically anything but white (non quartz) stone...if it's powdery when scraped on the pavement and leaves a line of crumbled rock that's white...it likely has lime or calcium in it which messes with the ph
what about flagstone?
it's fine usually ...just make sure theres nothing from the environment on it...like pesticides or fuel
Cool...thanks!
What about flint?
flint is fine
The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium thanks!
@el taco I thought you were into the tacos
What about geodo?
Some quartz based geodes are okay, but everyone is unique, and often times geodes are formed by water seeping into a void and minerals crystallizing, so make sure the crust of the geode is not coated in calcium, like or iron....I leave my stones in a bucket for a week or more and test the ph and TDS before and after
@@Fishtory thank you
@@Ciztyon no problem, my friend
What about dead coral I live in Ohio I found some and used in a tank 😳
Um you can use it but it will raise the ph to the 8.0-9.0 most likely
@@Fishtory ph out the tap is 8.00
@@zachrohr4712 lol well it may just at a little tds then lol
So no to fosdils!
Fossils?
You can do sandstone and cheat fossils...or ones that are very petrified....just make sure it's not pure limestone or silt stone, those can kick up a 10 gallon's hardness and ph from like 7 to 8.5 in some cases. Cheers...test it in a bucket for a week
@@Fishtory I did the vinegar test. I saw maybe one spot blow a bubble or two… not sure if just air pocket of slight fizzing lol so we have kept them out. A lot of them r crystallizing…
Conclusion....don't use rock. They are bad, pretty bad.
No... all but maybe 4 types are good
@@Fishtory what about the good and old river rocks? Pagoda stone?
Both great choices :) 👌
@@Fishtory Thanks for you approval
lol you really think u know what your talking about lol pretty funny hearing the way u have an answer for everything
Are you refering to some sort or error or
Do you have a question about somethingI
I do not have answers for most things. Anyone who thinks they understand a topic comepletely, clearly does not. If i don't know the answer or have a decent guess, im more than happy to admit it. However, a background in Archaeology requited i take almost another year because to begin to even start the PhD route you need credits that equal a minor in a wide range of subjects thay tie in nicely with fishkeeping or aquascaping. (geology, meteorology, anatomy, biology and anthropology) and I have an undergrad degree in History as well.
So by that criteria alone, I'am no expert in anything but perhaps archaeology and tattooing. Hence if i plan to make a video on a topic, yes ill try to know what im talking about.
Also this is a basic overview...i discuss the difference in a rock that doesnt effect an Aquarium's chemistry and one that is fish safe, but changes the ph or iron etc. Such as seiryu (limestone or calcium banding) or Koke (silicates and possible heavy metals from unscrupulous dealers).
you used ''you'' and ''u'' in the same sentence? also its you're not ''your'' must be a troll, cant imagine anyone being this stupid
@@Fishtory Don't waste your time with this guy...there is always someone in an arm chair behind their device who think they can be nasty and insulting....thanks for your video I learned alot
Very informative 👍🫡