[Noahma]

A co-worker here in Colorado goes hiking every weekend during the summer. He found some rocks he thought I might like, so he brought them down.

What I know, they are a Sedimentary Rock, very very old, They must have been under water at some point in their creation due to the different layers of light and dark grey coloring, and in the wind or faster moving waters to create the sweet texture on the rocks. He found them just shy of 14k above sea lol, which is why I know they are very very old, and were not under water anytime recent. My question are they safe? I poured almost a whole bottle of Vinegar on them just a bit ago, no fizzing. I did hear a very very small amount of sound from the rock when I listened to them up against my ear, but I heard the same thing when I pulled them out of a bucket of water after rinsing them off.

I want to redo my Fluval Flora with the rock, since my 36g has wood in it, I figured I would try a different hardscape this time.

think it would work?

 

[Jeffww]

They look awesome. Go for it.

 

[TheWoo]

Rocks .... should I?

I love the first piece of rock, wonderful striation. I am no geologist so I could not say whether to use them or not but they sure look pretty!

Best of luck!

 

[HypnoticAquatic]

throw em in a bucket an make sure they dont throw off your perams to much, if that works just try a few rcs or something that u have tons of as your trial, id use them for sure just take it slow if ur not sure. they do look sweety man!

 

[PinoyBoy]

I did hear a very very small amount of sound from the rock when I listened to them up against my ear, but I heard the same thing when I pulled them out of a bucket of water after rinsing them off.

Might be an insect trapped inside, or worse, a mantis shrimp :icon_eek: haha, internet sarcasm. The rocks do look very nice, even out of water.

I want to redo my Fluval Flora with the rock, since my 36g has wood in it, I figured I would try a different hardscape this time.
think it would work?

I think hardscapes are only be as good as the user's skill. From what I've seen in your other tanks, I'm sure you will make the rocks work very well. I think you should leave the Flora alone and just buy another one :icon_smil

 

[kamikazi]

as long as they don't drastically change your pH and as long as they don't crumble to bits i'd say use them.

They don't look like they would crumble, so like Hypnotic said throw them in a bucket for a couple weeks and test to pH periodically to see what happens.

 

[tharsis]

The layering looks like mudstones to me and the bottom of the first one looks like chert, these are inert and will look awesome in the aquarium! These rocks form in sedimentary basins (shallow oceans) through the deposition of fine clays and mud. After 100's of millions of years they compact and turn into rock. Each one of those layers essentially represents millions of years of deposition. The rocks were then thrust up to form mountains when the rockies formed during the last continental collision.

I think one of the issues you will have with the scape though is that the layering is so linear, are you planning on having the layers at angles or horizontal to the substrate?

 

[Dr. Acula]

Yup, I'm gonna agree with most everyone else, and say that you should be fine with those rocks, and that they'll look great. I'm no real expert on rock identification though, and if you're worried about changing parameters of course you can leave them in a bucket for a while and monitor the water conditions, as was already mentioned.

Also, sounds like a pretty cool co-worker. Nobody's ever brought me back any rocks, and most every time I go hiking anywhere with anyone I end up bringing some back. People just think I'm a little weird for saying certain rocks are nice, and then lugging around the extra weight.

 

[GoldenTetra]

those rocks are amazing!! I know nothing about rocks, but if you can use them I'd say go for it because the contrast between a nice green plant and that rock is going to be amazing!

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Don't listen to these people! What do they know? Nothing!
These rocks are extremely dangerous, and ugly too. I am a gracious person, and I'll dispose of them safely for you. Just send them to me... (did it work?) lol
Gorgeous!
Cindy

 

[psalm18.2]

Gorgeous rock!

 

[malaybiswas]

Nice rocks. You probably want more of them.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

 

[Noahma]

Might be an insect trapped inside, or worse, a mantis shrimp :icon_eek: haha, internet sarcasm. The rocks do look very nice, even out of water.

LOL some thistle worms maybe? frozen in time for millions of years. sounds like the beginning of a Sci-fi Chanel movie

I think hardscapes are only be as good as the user's skill. From what I've seen in your other tanks, I'm sure you will make the rocks work very well. I think you should leave the Flora alone and just buy another one :icon_smil

Thank you very much for the compliment I wish I could talk my wife into another tank lol we have an agreement of two tanks in the house at a time. One nano and one larger tank. So, I have driftwood in the 36 gal. and need something different in the flora.

The layering looks like mudstones to me and the bottom of the first one looks like chert, these are inert and will look awesome in the aquarium! These rocks form in sedimentary basins (shallow oceans) through the deposition of fine clays and mud. After 100's of millions of years they compact and turn into rock. Each one of those layers essentially represents millions of years of deposition. The rocks were then thrust up to form mountains when the rockies formed during the last continental collision.

I think one of the issues you will have with the scape though is that the layering is so linear, are you planning on having the layers at angles or horizontal to the substrate?

That was going to be my next thread lol, which way should I place them, I like the height of the flora, and wanted to take that to full effect, so the larger stone (6" wide, around 8-9" tall) I was thinking of leaving vertical, taking the other smaller stone (4" tall, about 2" at its widest) and leaning it slightly into the larger stone to create a cavern for planting some bush green plant between, and keeping them trimmed to fill in the "slope" between the rocks. Then using the last one in front of both, and planting crypt. parva around it to force a focus. (Will be trying to use rule of 1/3'ds on the placement.) The horizontal lines in the tank should make the tank feel wider (at least this works with my Residential designs) at the same time keeping the hardscape taller to make use of the height of the tank. The flora has a 12"x12"x13.75" footprint. I want to utilize the plants that are in the tank already, so the cost should be minimal when doing the scape. I am going to remove the foam background so it does not cause a clash with the two different textures.

Yup, I'm gonna agree with most everyone else, and say that you should be fine with those rocks, and that they'll look great. I'm no real expert on rock identification though, and if you're worried about changing parameters of course you can leave them in a bucket for a while and monitor the water conditions, as was already mentioned.

Also, sounds like a pretty cool co-worker. Nobody's ever brought me back any rocks, and most every time I go hiking anywhere with anyone I end up bringing some back. People just think I'm a little weird for saying certain rocks are nice, and then lugging around the extra weight.

He is an awesome guy. We are the last two designers in the office (Architectural design) So we take care of each other. He collects rocks, I keep his computer running lol

Don't listen to these people! What do they know? Nothing!
These rocks are extremely dangerous, and ugly too. I am a gracious person, and I'll dispose of them safely for you. Just send them to me... (did it work?) lol
Gorgeous!
Cindy

LOL!!! If this works well, I might see if he would collect more to put up in the swap & shop, gonna be a while though, there is snow covering the mountain where he collected them now.

Nice rocks. You probably want more of them.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

I might ask him in the spring if he would collect more so I can redo my 36 gal with them, along with some twisty driftwood I found out where to collect.

 

[BruceF]

Those are great.

 

[PC1]

Fantastic stones!!!

 

[Noahma]

Those are great.

Fantastic stones!!!

Thanks!

So far no changes to water params in one stone I have in a bucket, its only been there 24 hours so we will see after a few weeks.

 

[Zefrik]

Use them, I wish I could find some rocks like that. All I have here is limestone.

 

[knuggs]

Yeah great stones! Very moutainous! Love the layers! They should do great in your tank, Im always using rocks I find out of construction sites and sticking them in my aquarium after a good soak.

 

[jedimasterben]

Those are some sexy stones. I wish I could find some rock that's not limestone or shale.