Granite in SW??

[windlasher]

There is a HUGE field of Granite about 50 miles from me. I was thinking of grabbing a few larger pieces for my new tank.
Anyone use Granite before? Is it Salt Water Safe?
Thanks

 

[rcoultas]

NO - Granite is not a good idea - the minerals will leach from the rock and be detrimental to your entire system.

 

[powderblutang]

I have a friend who is a chemist and a saltwater fanatic, who just used granite in his 150, he told me that is was neutral and would not cause chemical changes that would be harmful to the fish

 

[globaldesigns]

My question: Is granite native to saltwater environments. I do believe in trying to be as authentic as possible.
the granite is probably cheaper or free, but IMO, I wouldn't do it

 

[soulfish]

Actually YES granite is naturally occuring in SW. Most of our shoreline in NorCal is Granite. It doesnt seem, to bother our SW fish.

 

[soulfish]

check it out

 

[ca161406]

o my :x our whole house is surrounded by granite rocks that are bigger then the whole house itself....hmmmm $$$ hahaha jk

 

[reefkprz]

Granite contains sulphidic schists that leach arsenic, it will be detrimental to your tank in the long run. DO NOT use it. in the ocean these minor concentrations are washed away and diluted 10billion times, in our tanks they get concentrated and become lethal.
granite may be neutral in the sense that it wont change PH or ALK but it will end up killing many things.

 

[aquaknight]

The other thing to consider is that granite is extremely dense and non-porous, so it will serve no biogical filtration purposes. The equalivent of adding heavy "plastic rocks" to your tank.

 

[mscarpena]

I agree with the previous 2 posts. As well as I just saw a report where granite is leaching a lot of radon which causes cancer in humans so I can not imagine it is very good for fish. You should get a radon test kit to see if the granite in your area is leaching radon because it can make you and your family sick. A good indicator would be if you have a basement and a sump pump do you have a radon midigation system. Good luck

 

[privatejoker]

There is no proof that radon causes cancer. Europe has different hazards levels then we do.
Any way as for granite, they use it for counter tops and alot of people use them as cutting boards with no ill effect. I don't know why you would want to use granite in your fish tank but I don't think there would be any problems. If you wanted to use as frag plug you'd be better off getting ceramic tiles the little 2x2 squares and using them.

 

[morval]

proof that radon causes cancer:http://radsci1.home.mchsi.com/irlcs.pdf

 

[privatejoker]

morval what do you do for a living?
I see alot of assuming in that study and over 60% of the people in the study smoke. As for taking miners and studying them, they are exposed to so much stuff in those mines its hard to tell what causes their disease and most of them smoke as well. I don't know if you ever heard of black lung before but thats what causes alot of problems in miners, they don't wear protective gear and it gets them in the end. I'm a respiratory therapist and have yet to read a good study that proves radon causes cancer. If you can come up with a better study go for it.

 

[srfisher17]

Get some limestone instead; it was LR eons ago. Limestone is now being mined for aquaculture and turned into into LR now; and is what base rock usually is. If your patient, you can grow your own LR. Just be sure you have adequate bio-filtration untill the process is complete. LR is one of the only easily-depleted things on the reef, IMO. I imagine most LR will be aquacultured in the near future.

 

[ca161406]

Originally Posted by mscarpena
http:///forum/post/2723240
I agree with the previous 2 posts. As well as I just saw a report where granite is leaching a lot of radon which causes cancer in humans so I can not imagine it is very good for fish. You should get a radon test kit to see if the granite in your area is leaching radon because it can make you and your family sick. A good indicator would be if you have a basement and a sump pump do you have a radon midigation system. Good luck
o god my rooms in the basement

 

[aquaknight]

Originally Posted by privatejoker
http:///forum/post/2723378
morval what do you do for a living?
I see alot of assuming in that study and over 60% of the people in the study smoke. As for taking miners and studying them, they are exposed to so much stuff in those mines its hard to tell what causes their disease and most of them smoke as well. I don't know if you ever heard of black lung before but thats what causes alot of problems in miners, they don't wear protective gear and it gets them in the end. I'm a respiratory therapist and have yet to read a good study that proves radon causes cancer. If you can come up with a better study go for it.
Can anyone explain the difference between the arsenic reefkpr was talking about in the mica bits of granite, and the random radon emissions of granite in general? Or is it the same thing (mostly)?
That said, I have before used pieces of granite I collected in NC/Tenn. for some freshwater tanks, without issues. Perhaps the more corrosive nature of saltwater might cause more, however.

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by privatejoker
http:///forum/post/2723345
Any way as for granite, they use it for counter tops and alot of people use them as cutting boards with no ill effect.
the difference in using them as counter tops and cutting boards is.... they are not surrounded by water having water flow through the flaws and seams dissolving the sulphidic shichts, granite countertops are polished and sealed some times "live edges" are left but only in non cullinary uses such as bathrooms, as foods would quickly stain and destroy the appearance of granite if left unsealed. I'm a carpenter and have installed my share of granite counter tops so I am speaking from expirience with them, not just guess work or reading.

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2723526
That said, I have before used pieces of granite I collected in NC/Tenn. for some freshwater tanks, without issues. Perhaps the more corrosive nature of saltwater might cause more, however.

most likley the amount of granite you used and the rate of arsenic dissolution into the water column was mitigated by your water changes. it can take a long time for something to die from slow arsenic poisoning.
A few years ago a friend of mine set up an african cichlid tank and used nothing but granite, granite rubble for the bottom, granite stones for the decor, and he couldnt keep fish alive for more than a week, it turned out in the long run after many weeks of researching and testing that the arsenic amounts in his water was killing off all of his bacteria so every fish initiated an ammonia spike. can you imagine one fish ammonia spiking itself to death in a 90g? you could set up a brand new tank and not have that problem, We do not know if the arsenic was high enough to kill the fish but it did kill the bacteria water samples taken to the university showed only dead bacteria. arsenic levels were astronomical (probably due to the granite rubble as the large surface area and dust content would make a high surface area for arsenic dissolution.

 

[privatejoker]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/2723616
the difference in using them as counter tops and cutting boards is.... they are not surrounded by water having water flow through the flaws and seams dissolving the sulphidic shichts, granite countertops are polished and sealed some times "live edges" are left but only in non cullinary uses such as bathrooms, as foods would quickly stain and destroy the appearance of granite if left unsealed. I'm a carpenter and have installed my share of granite counter tops so I am speaking from expirience with them, not just guess work or reading.
What does installing granite and knowing the chemical make up of granite have to do with each other?

Most installers I know don't care about the chemical make up, they know how to cut it, take care of it and put it in.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by ca161406
http:///forum/post/2723506
o god my rooms in the basement

Stay there! Line your room with aluminum foil to confuse the aliens! At least you're away from the skin cancer causing sun and the cancer causing powerlines. Nobody's safe! We're all doomed!