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Using slate in aquarium

Paul Lane

Member
Joined
3 Sep 2019
Messages
40
Location
UK
Hi I have noticed some small silver flecks in the slate I have just put into my new setup and wondering if this could be minerals that cold leach into the water?
 
Likely not a problem, you could find simmular flakes in granite but it's still granite.. They likely are formed from mineral deposites but completely petrified and inert.

Tricks you can do to determin is spray Vinigar on the rock. if it starts to sizlle an bubble it could be it leaches back into the water. If it does that, than leave it or test it any further with soaking it for a while and do some gh and kh and or ph tests to see if it altered.

Some rock for example Ardenne Calcite sizzles like mad when poured with vinigar. But than vinigar is rather agressive the rock can still be used in aqaurium because the process in water is rather slow and neglectable with doing a water change now and then we do anyway.
 
Thanks for replying, do you think this could be pyrites, and if so would that create an issue with iron leaching out?

Edit - just tested with vineger no fizzy
 

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Hi all,
small silver flecks in the slate
Darrel can tell you more about what it all could be and likely is
<"Mica"> would be my guess. You could get a whole range of minerals in slates, but they aren't likely to be in amounts that cause any problems.

Because slates haven't been very strongly heated they don't usually have visible crystals.

It may be that your rock isn't geologically actually a "slate", but a more <"heavily metamorphosed rock"> like a <"schist">, which would have bigger crystals but would still cleave into flat plates.

schist10.jpg


cheers Darrel
 
Thanks for the information, this is a great help means I don't have to remove he rocks and can start planting moss on the rock
 
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