Is this kind of rock bad to have in your tank?

minitrucke

Member
I was told that this sandstone is bad to have in my tank. I really dont like it but Im just using it to hold my mushrooms closer to the light. Any negative side affects to these rocks? Sorry about the crappy pic but I cant seem to take very good pics of my tank, its not as dirty as it looks. LOL
Thanks, Josh
 

ophiura

Active Member
I wouldn't use sandstone, IMO...Limestone, in general, is not a problem....much of it is old coral anyway and it is commonly available in fish stores. It is generally white often with lots of holes. A good base rock.
But anything with color like "rainbow rock" or something I would stay away from in a saltwater tank. They are used in freshwater mostly. Limestone is often used in african cichlid tanks for the same reason it is used in marine...to keep pH high. But the color in some of the other sandstone "fish store rocks" comes from various minerals like iron. Sometimes good in lower pH planted freshwater tanks where they are usually used. It is a nutrient for plant growth. In addition they are silica based rock. Neither silica or iron or some of the other minerals are good in a reef or saltwater tank, IMO.
I'd run to the fish store and look for a hunk of limestone rock.
 

thisistodd

Member
they look like some kind of quartz or feldspar lol im j/k im in geology right now and i hate learning all these damn rock names. but that really is what it looks like. i dont think those will hurt anything, but you never know if a rock is pure, it could have traces of copper in it or other heavy metals. limestone would be the only rock i would use because it is formed from calcium deposits in a marine environment
 

ophiura

Active Member
It looks to me like what I used to sell in an LFS..."rainbow rock" which is as far as I remember a sandstone. And we would never sell it for a saltwater tank. Well, unless you wanted to offer extremely large sums of money to talk us out of it. :)
 
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