[Udenlo]

So, I'm sure you guys have seen Pagoda Stone for sale at the LFS. I recently bought a few pieces of it from my LFS to make a cave in my tank. I specifically asked the clerk at the store if this would effect the PH of my tank and she said that it wouldn't. Well being the trusting guy that I am, I took her word for it and didn't test it myself. After doing a water test this week, I noticed my PH much higher than it normally is, so after some internet research I deduced that the one thing that could raise my PH was the pagoda stone. So I took the two pieces out of my tank and used my API nitrate #1 test solution, because it has hydrochloric acid in it, to put a few drops on the stone. As soon as the drops hit the stone it started to fizz. Well this kinda ticked me off and I figured I would share my experience so no one else makes the same mistake that I did. I learned a valuable lesson and I hope you guys have better luck with your rocks then I did.

Thanks for letting me vent,
Udenlo

 

[limz_777]

did you try it with vinegar ?

 

[Udenlo]

Yeah just tried it with distilled white vinegar. Not nearly as much of a reaction as the nitrate test solution, but still noticeable none the less.

 

[NWA-Planted]

yikes, didnt lose any fish did you??

 

[raven_wilde]

I *almost* bought some of this for my new shrimp tank a few months ago when I was picking out rocks. It was so cool looking, but the crumbly texture made me suspicious so I went with petrified wood instead.

THANK YOU for confirming my suspicions. I hope you didn't lose any fish or shrimp in the process.

 

[zdnet]

Thank you for the trick of using the API nitrate #1 solution.

 

[Udenlo]

My fish are okay, though my cories are restless. I picked up some petrified wood at the store yesterday to replace the pagoda stone. The API test solution still fizzes a little on certain parts of it but vinegar has no effect on it, so I'm assuming that it is fine for my tank. It has a pretty cool crystal formation on it too, which is perfectly safe as well.

 

[limz_777]

any close up pic of it ?

 

[somewhatshocked]

Really depends on the makeup of your tank and the specific piece of pagoda.

In my experience, pH is typically only raised about a degree and that's balanced out by the substrates I use, which tend to lower pH about a degree. Often, the impact on water parameters can be lessened by soaking the stone in a bucket for a couple weeks. And after a few months in my shrimp tanks, I notice even less of an impact.

 

[kuni]

I *almost* bought some of this for my new shrimp tank a few months ago when I was picking out rocks. It was so cool looking, but the crumbly texture made me suspicious so I went with petrified wood instead.

THANK YOU for confirming my suspicions. I hope you didn't lose any fish or shrimp in the process.

Petrified wood raises pH too. :hihi:

 

[mordalphus]

Petrified wood raises pH too. :hihi:

depends on what kind of wood is petrified

 

[zdnet]

depends on what kind of wood is petrified

By the time a piece of wood had been petrified, all the organic matters have been replaced by minerals. Hence a petrified wood is no longer wood. It is rock.

It is the rock minerals, not the remnants of the original wood, that raise the water pH. Therefore as far as water pH goes, why do you think it depends on the kind of wood that was there in the beginning?