[Solstice]

Being relatively successful with CRS and having read all the posts here, I decided a few months ago to give the magical "mineral rock" a test and see what developed.

First off, I'm a skeptic. I fully expect to finish this review finding that the mineral rock is nothing more than the fish oil many of us believe it to be. That said, I'm keeping an open mind, will be taking pictures of the same shrimp (I have a few that stand out pretty well including a few black bee shrimp and a one-eyed CRS that are easy to find) and will be completely objective in my findings. Also, this is not a scientific test. I do not have controls in place and will not be doing anything out of the ordinary other than dropping the mineral rocks in and monitoring what happens.

To be as thorough as possible I've ordered mineral rock from two different eBay sellers: AquaticMagic and ShrimpFanatics.

The first half of the test ended a week or so ago after having the mineral rock from AquaticMagic in the tank for about a month and a half. The result was undoubtedly negative. There was absolutely no change in the coloration of the CRS whatsoever.

The second half of the test began today. I hadn't intended on posting this review until both tests were complete, but found something interesting when I dropped the ShrimpFanatics mineral rock in. The rock from them was something very, very different than the rock from AquaticMagic. It looks different (is whiter), feels different (is softer) and it completely melted almost instantly in the tank. It's totally broken down into a fine white powder. After a month and a half in the tank, there is no evidence whatsoever of the AquaticMagic rock melting or dissolving in the slightest (not even the mild melting you see in the picture in the link to their eBay auction below). In fact, picking it up and squeezing it does not make it crumble at all.

Here are links to the two different auctions on eBay:
Aquatic Magic
ShrimpFanatics

I'll post before and after pics of the AquaticMagic rock tomorrow. I didn't expect to be writing this today so I didn't bring my camera to work.

Just out of curiosity, for those of you that have tried the mineral rock, how did it react when you dropped it in the tank?

~ Sol

 

[Color Me Blue]

Sol: Are you testing your water during these test? Have the CRS acted any different? Also, what size of tank are you placing these mineral rocks in? Is the water a mix of RO and tap?

I know...lot's of questions. LOL

 

[ToYoTa]

Not to mess up the post but i also have rocks from two different suppliers and the second suppliers rock also crumbled and started to break apart and some melting but has seemed to stop rather quickly. I really believe the first supplier sent me rocks that were used and had nothing left in them. they were grey looking when i got em.

 

[sunmiztres]

Not to mess up the post but i also have rocks from two different suppliers and the second suppliers rock also crumbled and started to break apart and some melting but has seemed to stop rather quickly. I really believe the first supplier sent me rocks that were used and had nothing left in them. they were grey looking when i got em.

Have you noticed any difference using the rocks?

 

[Solstice]

Christin,
This is in the 3g that you saw. No behavior change in the shrimp at all. I haven't changed anything about my tank params and haven't tested them but that's a good idea. I'll do a KH/GH test tomorrow and post the results. I wish I had a way to test TDS, but don't. The mix is about 30% tap and 70% RO.

Toyota,
My experience is the same. The first rocks from AquaticMagic definitely have a grey tint to them while the more recent ShrimpFanatics rocks are very white. That said, I don't think the AquaticMagic rocks were used in any way, I just think they're somehow different (not as pure?) as the rocks from ShrimpFanatics. I'm curious too if you saw any change at all.

Note too that at this time, I'm not culling anything in this tank. The genetics of the shrimp are pretty much a dice roll until I move and get another tank or two setup though I think this makes a more accurate test as to what effect the minerals might actually have.

Although I realize that, without a more scientific test, I can't put a definitive end to this debate (especially since the mineral rocks are most popular in Japan where they have relatively soft water and here in San Diego we have extremely hard water) I hope to determine whether these mineral rocks have any effect at all.

Pics tomorrow....

 

[Color Me Blue]

TDS reading would be nice to have.....maybe someone from SCAPE has one available?

These rocks are just adding minerals to the water, correct? I wonder if they really benefit those who just use RO or DI water? SD water has tons of minerals in it I bet. LOL Though I can't say for certain because I never tested it.

 

[Haeun]

Wow, great idea, Jon. I've always been wondering if I should spend that extra money (that I don't have) on stuff that I'm not even sure will work.

I've heard of a powder form too? Or is this a different product?
I too have seen pictures/heard of mineral rocks that dissolve and some that ... don't seem to? :| Want to know the difference.

Looking forward to continual updates on this.

 

[Color Me Blue]

Mike has these rocks too in one of his tanks that I know of. He puts them in a glass dish though. That might be a good idea so that they don't melt all over your substrate. Too late of an idea? LOL Sorries.

 

[milalic]

If your water has Ca and Mg, you do not need the rocks.
The mineral powder is the same thing.

 

[ToYoTa]

I have noticed that 5-6 shrimp are losing there bright white bands and turning clear. Im useing RO water with kent ro right to bring my gh to 4. with ada amazon brings the ph up to 6.5 -6.8 temp 23c-24c. I moved them 1 week ago and i am thinking the loss of white color is from stress.

 

[Solstice]

Damn it, I've run into nothing but road-blocks with regards to anything aquarium related for the last month or two.

There's been a rat problem at the office. Some people complained to the city and OSHA and the company has had to ramp up it's extermination program as a result. Hence, I've had to take the shrimp tank home. They said there wasn't any fumigation taking place, but mandated that all "pets" be removed regardless.

Sucks. I had 2 hours notice to pack the whole tank up and get it home on Friday. I netted out as many CRS as possible then drained the water level down low and moved the tank as carefully as I could. Everybody survived, but a lot of HC got uprooted.

Experiment is on hold for now until I move again (houses this time) in a week or so.

 

[Color Me Blue]

Oh that sucks Sol! Guess you'll be busy replanting those HC. But I would hold off til you move to your new place since they'll get uprooted again. Hang in there...I know moving can be stressful. Just think of about the finish line. LOL Getting that garage setup as a fish/shrimp room?

 

[Solstice]

You betcha roud: Actually, we're moving to a 3BR, so I've got a whole room dedicated to an office and tanks. :biggrin:

 

[Color Me Blue]

Lucky you!!! I expect to see pics of this new fish/shrimp room! Shrimp rack? hehehe

 

[Hilde]

Wish you had posted some pictures!