limestone rocks (leftover african cichlid rock)- reefsafe?

K' Family Reef · 01/18/2008, 04:35 PM

have a lot of limestone rock leftover from when had african cichlids... i put a piece in our 150 fowlr tank - and i dont know if it was the cause of it or not but the water turned little cloudy - actually it happened after the rock was in the water for a couple of weeks - then after few days it cleared up w/ no obvious effect on fish.

any idea how this rock holds up to saltwater? and is it going to be reefsafe?

regards

ihopss · 01/18/2008, 04:39 PM

I have used it with no probs.

israelnajar · 01/18/2008, 04:47 PM

Same stuff as the baserock my LFS sales.

seapug · 01/18/2008, 04:52 PM

mined limestone is very similar to collected reefrock. Many large aquariums use it as base rock then seed it with collected love rock. It's fine to use from a FW tank as long as long as the tank was never treated with copper or other disease medications. That stuff is absorbed by calcium based media and will leach out over time.

K' Family Reef · 01/18/2008, 04:56 PM

thanks for the replies - so there should be no effect on the ph or any dissolving of the limestone ?

regards

seapug · 01/18/2008, 05:03 PM

It has the same slightly alkaline effect that normal live rock has. The cloudiness you saw might have just been die off/release of debris and films from the FW days. It might have had some slight effect when it happened but if your tank is well established and otherwise healthy I wouldn't worry about it.

K' Family Reef · 01/18/2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seapug
It has the same slightly alkaline effect that normal live rock has. The cloudiness you saw might have just been die off/release of debris and films from the FW days. It might have had some slight effect when it happened but if your tank is well established and otherwise healthy I wouldn't worry about it.

Seapug and others
thanks for the replies... i did african cichlids for 10 years and have a lot of the 'holey' limestone rock leftover but never thought about adding it to my saltwater tanks... actually this rock sells for over 6$ a pound and has real nice look as 'base rock'... was especially nice in a cichlid tank and glad to hear it should be ok for use now in my marine tanks.

regards

mokeyz · 01/18/2008, 08:24 PM

what other type of non-marine rock can we use assuming it was never in a tank with copper? how about petrified wood? polished rocks, etc.?

K' Family Reef · 01/18/2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mokeyz
what other type of non-marine rock can we use assuming it was never in a tank with copper? how about petrified wood? polished rocks, etc.?

would not add petrified wood to a marine tank

ret25yo · 01/18/2008, 09:05 PM

I have some in my 270 (texas holey rock) I had it in my 40 breeder for a year and noticed the the underside (sand) had been eaten away and looked very porous. one bad thing though ...a rock topled on to a peice in my 270 and ended up chipping the holey rock
this may be interpretred as the saltwater environment weakens the integrity of the rock. (but it looks great coraline encrusted. )

K' Family Reef · 01/18/2008, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ret25yo
I have some in my 270 (texas holey rock) I had it in my 40 breeder for a year and noticed the the underside (sand) had been eaten away and looked very porous. one bad thing though ...a rock topled on to a peice in my 270 and ended up chipping the holey rock
this may be interpretred as the saltwater environment weakens the integrity of the rock. (but it looks great coraline encrusted. )

so it is actually more or less dissolving in the water
was concerned what effect this actually would have (if it is significant enough to warrant any effect on water quality)...

used nothing but the texas holey rock
in my african tanks (great w/ all the holes for fish to go in/out of) was shocked when i moved outside of texas and found lfs selling the stuff for over 6bucks/pound (think i paid 2$ or less in texas!)... i still have many pounds of this in storage so might have to get it out and add more to the fowlr tank perhaps few pieces into the reef also!

so it doesnt sound like its any good to use as main support rock if it is weakened over time... iow not good to stack a lot of weight on top of.

regards

mokeyz · 01/19/2008, 06:57 PM

warren, why wouldn't you use petrified wood? it is solid rock, i got a bunch from outside the Petrified Forrest. Just curious...

K' Family Reef · 01/19/2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mokeyz
warren, why wouldn't you use petrified wood? it is solid rock, i got a bunch from outside the Petrified Forrest. Just curious...

hey it sounds cool to use - might want to post a thread about it - would be interesting to see what people would say.

regards

REEFKEEPA · 01/19/2008, 11:36 PM

Only problem is it looks like limestone....
If it looks ok to you then it'll work.

ret25yo · 01/20/2008, 12:33 AM

the holey rock I've come to believe is a great calcium buffer...

01/18/2008, 04:35 PM	#1
K' Family Reef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,966	limestone rocks (leftover african cichlid rock)- reefsafe? have a lot of limestone rock leftover from when had african cichlids... i put a piece in our 150 fowlr tank - and i dont know if it was the cause of it or not but the water turned little cloudy - actually it happened after the rock was in the water for a couple of weeks - then after few days it cleared up w/ no obvious effect on fish. any idea how this rock holds up to saltwater? and is it going to be reefsafe? regards

01/18/2008, 04:47 PM	#3
israelnajar Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: 5000 Feet Posts: 1,007	Same stuff as the baserock my LFS sales. __________________ I would never do such a thing unless you would already have been going to do that!

01/18/2008, 04:52 PM	#4
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	mined limestone is very similar to collected reefrock. Many large aquariums use it as base rock then seed it with collected love rock. It's fine to use from a FW tank as long as long as the tank was never treated with copper or other disease medications. That stuff is absorbed by calcium based media and will leach out over time. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

01/18/2008, 05:03 PM	#6
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	It has the same slightly alkaline effect that normal live rock has. The cloudiness you saw might have just been die off/release of debris and films from the FW days. It might have had some slight effect when it happened but if your tank is well established and otherwise healthy I wouldn't worry about it. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

01/18/2008, 09:05 PM	#10
ret25yo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 102	I have some in my 270 (texas holey rock) I had it in my 40 breeder for a year and noticed the the underside (sand) had been eaten away and looked very porous. one bad thing though ...a rock topled on to a peice in my 270 and ended up chipping the holey rock this may be interpretred as the saltwater environment weakens the integrity of the rock. (but it looks great coraline encrusted. ) __________________ Thanks Clear Fabrications! (Seattle) 72x36x24 w 125g sump Thank a wounded veteran ..would ya Current Tank Info: 270g custom

01/18/2008, 04:39 PM	#2
ihopss Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gilmer,tx Posts: 751	I have used it with no probs.

01/18/2008, 04:56 PM	#5
K' Family Reef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,966	thanks for the replies - so there should be no effect on the ph or any dissolving of the limestone ? regards

01/18/2008, 08:24 PM	#8
mokeyz Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 371	what other type of non-marine rock can we use assuming it was never in a tank with copper? how about petrified wood? polished rocks, etc.?

01/19/2008, 06:57 PM	#12
mokeyz Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 371	warren, why wouldn't you use petrified wood? it is solid rock, i got a bunch from outside the Petrified Forrest. Just curious...

01/19/2008, 11:36 PM	#14
REEFKEEPA Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: New Orleans Posts: 494	Only problem is it looks like limestone.... If it looks ok to you then it'll work. __________________ WE ROCK!!!!!! Current Tank Info: 70 Gallon tub drilled, 120Lbs LR, 140Lbs LS, CPR CY194 Sump w/LR trickle, Mag Drive 9.5 return, 2 x Tunze6025 for flow, 2 x Ice Cap 660 running 6 x 95 W lamps

01/20/2008, 12:33 AM	#15
ret25yo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 102	the holey rock I've come to believe is a great calcium buffer... __________________ Thanks Clear Fabrications! (Seattle) 72x36x24 w 125g sump Thank a wounded veteran ..would ya Current Tank Info: 270g custom