Flagstones = slate?

[Seleya]

Ok, so I saw a very cool aquascape which involved quite a bit of slate, stacked into terraces with fine gravel cascading down it and would like to replicate the look to a degree. I have flagstones kicking around from when we re-did our front walk (now brick walkway) and was wondering -- is flagstone slate? Related to slate? (it is some sort of sedimentary rock) Safe? I'll try the acid test but was wondering if anyone knew.

I'm shifting my Amazon biotope into a larger tank upstairs and moving my ranchu into the 44 corner hex. *crazysmil

What kills me is that I got 2 second hand tanks about a year ago and the guy had tons of slate I could take too but was too darn tired after draining and lugging two 55s, a 55 stand, two buckets of gravel, two buckets of fish and about two more trips worth of supplies/junk out of a three decker in Boston with a narrow, twisty staircase and had no intentions of using the slate or knowing anyone who would want it right away (and the tanks were lousy with algae -- my van smelled of pond scum for weeks after despite keeping all the wet stuff on impermeable surfaces) Even if I did bring it home, I'd probably have just given it away at a fish club meeting well before now but still... *ALL*

 

[Exevious]

Check out some of my work....

I use alot of flagstone... no trouble with it at all.
Not sure about slate...

there are two links in my sig... click on the 55 for new photos


http://community.webshots.com/user/exevious

 

[wayne]

Flagstone is, according to definition a highly laminated , well cemented muddy sandstone. Slate has a more muddy content, and has been metamorphosed as well.

Whether or not flagstone is a good rock for you depends on whether it's cemented with quartz or calcite. If calcite , it might raise your Gh, Kh and pH. Test it with vinegar and see if it fizzes. If you have hard water or a pH > 7.5 it won't anyway

 

[Seleya]

Thanks, wayne! I'll test it. Considering I'm in New England, it's likely quartz if it's locally quarried. I admit, I like the effect of slate a little better. (thicker) But will play with what I have first before heading for the stone yard.

pH is 7.4. I do have Grey Coast Calcite in another tank with only a .2 rise in pH. One of my other tanks, the 44 corner, currently has 4 good-sized pieces of Malaysian driftwood in it and the pH is 7.2. I just don't want to use something that's ill-advised. Once I used an awesome piece of quartz, only to see the mettalic vein I hadn't noticed when I examined it start to react.

Nice tanks, Exevious -- a couple mirror essentially what I'm hoping to do. Your stone looks more like slate than the flagstones I'm describing. (they're shades of aqua/blue/grey with very obvious sedimentary lines and flake quite easily) Do you find you need eggcrate underneath for support or anything to stir up any dead spots behind the stonework? I was originally going to do this in the 44 corner, but am now thinking of doing the flagstones in one of the 46 bows first (fewer angles to worry about and will go with the room they're in since they're light and dark bluish) I have an airwall in that tank and wonder if I shouldn't leave it there behind the stones.

 

[wayne]

Well as it's New England it's likely the same geology as I see locally so I would imagine quartz as well. But as you're seeing if you have a pH much above 7 the effects of calite are pretty marginal anyway.

 

[Exevious]

The rock I use is called Oklahoma Flagstone. I get it for .10 cents/lb at a local masonary supply shop.

Im not familiar with eggcrate... I just place the stones carefully using large rocks on the base, and keeping the bigger sections of rock against the back... reducing the amount of gravel piles that can collect garbage.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Some time in the 70's a slate blackboard was removed from my school. I picked up some of the fragments. I have used them steadly since then with no problems. It is a dense black slate.
Also the first tanks I owned had slate bottoms. I still have two survivors.

 

[bassbonediva]

Look at the dates on the thread and read what the person before you posted before responding. This thread was dead back in January of 2006 and the person who posted before you is a spam bot.