Utah Stone in malawi tank?

[AVenom]

I know you have to becarful what rocks you put in your tank, so I want to make sure this is ok first.
They are sold as fish tank rocks, and have been sandblasted. Please tell me if this is ok in my tank.

Thanks
Dave

 

[Firebug]

Since they are being sold as fish tank rocks, they should be fine (otherwise they couldn't say they were suitable for aquarium use). But if you really want to make sure it'll be okay to put in, you can take a little bit of vinegar, and pour it on the rock, and see if it does any bubbling. If it doesn't do any bubbling, then it should be safe to put in, and if it does bubble, then it could harm your aquarium and fish.

 

[Intermision]

Since they are being sold as fish tank rocks, they should be fine (otherwise they couldn't say they were suitable for aquarium use). But if you really want to make sure it'll be okay to put in, you can take a little bit of vinegar, and pour it on the rock, and see if it does any bubbling. If it doesn't do any bubbling, then it should be safe to put in, and if it does bubble, then it could harm your aquarium and fish.

What causes the bubling?

 

[hyunelan2]

The reaction of Calcium with an Acid (viniger) causes the bubbling. It will not kill your fish directly - but can alter your pH by adding rocks containing Calcium. (Typically limestone is).

 

[Firebug]

Limestone and other alkaline minerals, which are bad for the fish. It alters the pH of the water, and causes other problems in there.


EDIT- hyunelan2 beat me to it!

 

[kagal]

depending on what cichlids you have. the fizzing rocks would be a great addition to a african lake tanginykan setup where you would need the real high PH.can also go in a african lake malawi tank setup because it does need a higher than normal PH. but if your are going with a SA tank setup most of those fish need a low PH. so It just depends on the fish and a little research on your part for the tank parameters

 

[wayne]

I'd have thought raising the pH would make 'em ideal for a rift setup. However they are very unlikely to raise the pH above 7.2,7.3 as they'll stop dissolving at that point, but you are very unlikely to becomae acid, and that is good.
So use them. FWIW I have a doctorate in geology so think I am reasonably qualified to make that comment

 

[Acei]

Wayne, I'm not trying to argue with you, but I keep limestone (texas holey rock) in my cichlid tanks and it buffers the pH up to 8.0. Now there may be something that I'm missing, but I always assumed that it was the rocks keeping my pH up there. I use straight tap water (which has a pH of about 7.4), silicate sand substrate, and no salts. It would have to be the limestone buffering the tank up to 8.0 wouldn't it?

 

[Orion]

My guess is that if the water being used has a low gh/kh, then there will be more of an effect on the Ph than if the water had a bit higher gh/kh.

 

[wayne]

That's possible, but the rate of solution should drop to almost nothing at about 7.3. However , as you say with very low kH to start very small changes make some very big differences that aren't stable. I would be interested to see the kH.
The main thing to enjoy is the fact that you will almost never, no matter how you abuse the system, manage to get an acid pH

 

[Acei]

I'll have to test for hardness for ya. It's been so long since I've tested it, I couldn't tell you right off. As for keeping the pH up no mater what, that's very true. I'm running CO2 injection and was worried about it making the water too acidic for my africans. Not a problem at all. I think it may have lowered the pH by .1 if anything. It helps tremendously to keeping a stable environment for the fish without haveing to fuss with salt mixes and such to get the pH just right.