Rocks and shrimp a general guide.

[SinkorSwim]

Good morning all,

I've been fortunate enough to chat with someone I've met on my travels whilst searching for inert stone for which to use in an iwagumi scape and he's very kindly sent me a guide of sorts, so with his permission I will simply cut and paste his advice. Martin studies geology, petrology and stratigraphy, is a collector of all manners of samples of rock and minerals and I'll link him this post, so he knows I'm using his words responsibly.


'A short list of suitable and unsuitable rocks based on there geological properties.'

Rocks to aviod -

Carbonates
Sulpides + Sulphates
Nitrates + Nitrites
Most metal ores
Halides (Salts)
A large proportian of Natural elements (although Bismuth as shown above is inert.)

Rocks that are inert, therfore should be acceptable -

Most Silicates such as -

Quartz (Including it`s various variaties - Amythest, Citrine, Rose quartz, Smokey (also known as Cairngorm) quartz,) Quartzite (A metamorphic form of pure quartz)
Mica
Feldspar`s
Chert
Flint
Sandstones
Mud/Silt stones

Igneous Rocks -

Basalt
Gabbro
Dolerite
Granites

Metamorphic Rocks -

Slate
Most Phylites (Slate is technically a Phylite)
Most Schists
Most Gneiss`s
The above 3 do have some examples that would be unsuitable due to their chemical make up

I wasn't sure if I should post this in the invert forum or not but as it's scape related I decided here was likely better.
Martin also sells some of his rock and I'm sure if anyone is trying to source anything in particular he would be a good man to talk to.

 

[Manisha]

Thank you for the above guide ☺ In a real world example is within Northern Ireland (where I'm based) the main water supply comes from the Silent Valley reservoir in the Mourne mountains. This area is predominantly granite & has little effect on the water thus producing soft tap water ☺

I think changes can cause the sedimentary rock 'shale' to metamorphosis to 'slate' (commonly used in our tanks.) Further changes are required to produce a metamorphism of 'slate' to 'phyllite' and then of 'phyllite' into 'schist' (the changes are due to growth of mica crystals in the rock).

 

[SinkorSwim]

I hope it will be able to help some folk who are trying to combine CRS with scaping without lots of water changes, constant scrutiny over water parameters, and that background feeling of inevitability.

One thing my search has done is open a door to petrology and I can see myself following up on it in the near future.

If I hadn't gone for the manten from AE, I was going to look more into Gabbro, it seemed a nice piece of rock which would gather character with selective moss decor, but with Richard advising his Manten was inert I opted for it and so called a halt to the search.

 

[Manisha]

Rocks and their composition can be interesting, more so in some ways when you can observe the practical applications. Being aware of what can be sourced locally & can be identified as 'safe' I think is a real possibility for me with future projects too! ☺