Ocean Rock Suitable ??

[pauldesfitz]

Hi All, This is my first Post, so please be kind !
Well, my Malawi Cichlid tank has finally come to its end...as the agressive fihes have basically bullied themselves to death !! SO.. I can now look at a new Set Up ,and have considered for a while about a Planted Tank. I`ve done a fair bit of research, and live 40 minutes from "The Green Machine" shop in Wrexham. However, I was wondering if I could use the Ocean Rock or Coral Sand that I already have in a Planted Tank Set up ?? Or would it mess up the Chemistry so much that its not worth it ?
The Rocks are not "Live" Rocks , but are Ocean Rock ,which is Full of Holes. I thought that I could maybe grow some mosses etc. in the crevices ??
Might just dump it all and get some wood, for a softer look.
Any Thoughts appreciated.
Kind Regards

 

[Tim Harrison]

It's probably frowned upon, but when I converted from Marines back to a planted tank again I used my well rinsed coral sand to cap a moss peat substrate in a very hard water area and successfully kept both plants and fish, without any problems. In a soft water area it might have been a different story. But water chemistry aside I think the bottom line is - it's really about what you're happiest with aesthetically. As for ocean rock I always thought it was a sort of tufa, which is very soft precipitated calcium carbonate type limestone, so it'll probably add to your dissolved solids and hardness.

 

[pauldesfitz]

Thanks for info....
I`ll probably get rid of Coral sand, in favour of Akadama (after reading info on it). If I kept the Rocks, or some of them, I`m thinking I might get away with it ??
Bit naive about Water hardness etc. and whether it will affect Pland Growth.
Thanks again

 

[Tim Harrison]

I think I may have confused ocean rock and tufa, either way they are both largely composed of calcium carbonate and will up your TDS (total dissolved solids), hardness and pH, especially if your going to inject CO2 since this lowers the pH which will accelerate the rate at which it's dissolved.
However, many types of soft limestone rocks favoured by aquascapers such as seiryu stone have a similar effect on water chemistry, though perhaps not so severe, and the regular and substantial water changes associated with maintaining planted tanks tends to counteract this.
I imagine it's this buffering capacity that makes/made tufa and ocean rock popular with Malawi cichlid tanks such as yours since the resultant water chemistry will be similar to that found in their natural habitat.
All things considered you could use it, but if you want a thriving planted tank you would perhaps be limiting the species of flora and fauna available to you, and IMO, aesthetically speaking, it would probably appear more natural to use rocks and stones more commonly associated with freshwater habitats or those traditionally used by planted tank enthusiasts.

 

[pauldesfitz]

Thank you for your reply.. I think You`ve made my mind up for me !
Guess I`ll start from scratch and Source some Hardscape , probably from The Green Machine Shop.
I`ve got the Bug now, so going to visit it this week.
Regards, Paul