"Feather Rock"

[SCR]

"Feather Rock"

I found this rock at Lowe's today it's called Feather Rock. It is very light in weight and very porous. My question is would this make good base rock in place of live rock? Has anyone tried using this stuff? I asked what it was made of and was told that it is made of fiberglass and styrofoam.
The price was very reasonable only 7.98, it didn't matter what size you picked out, big or small each piece is the same price.
I found it in the garden area, they are used for landscaping.
I will be soaking it in some water for a while to see if it test out ok.
If it check out , later I will cut some holes thru the center to make tunnels and cavities, it seem soft enought and plan on using a high pressure washer and blast some holes in it.
Anyway what experience if any has anyone had with this stuff?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v694/Rctank/DCP00943.jpg

 

[Simms142]

Does it float?

 

[MessyRoadKil]

I remember that! Im curious too... I wanted to use it in my frog cage. Making a reef with it sounds REALY GOOD too!

 

[maxvan1]

if you can blast holes in it, dont you think it might break apart in your water after a while?

 

[doody]

It's a type of lava rock.

 

[KevinM]

Ummm....I've never heard of a volcano spewing "fiberglass and styrofoam".

K

 

[SCR]

"Does it float?"

No, this 18" rock weigh about 15lb.



"if you can blast holes in it, dont you think it might break apart in your water after a while?"

It's made of fiberglass and styrofoam and should hold up under water OK. You have to hit it pretty hard to make a hole in it.
I found someone today that has used the stuff and the only bad thing he had to say about it was that" it has sharp edges."
Might be a problem for fishes.
But you don't have to take time to cure it.

 

[Karl K]

I'd worry about fish eating algae off of it. How do you think your snails will like sliding along broken glass all day??

I thought about this too. even if it is Volcanic rock, the properties of it will make it easy for our livestock to ingest with the algae they eat.

I'm no fish doctor, but I'm pretty sure that they're not designed to be eating rock/styrofoam/fiberglass.

Just my $0.02

Karl

 

[browardreefer]

most lava rock isnt from volcanos. it is a byproduct of manufacturing somthing orother... most people dont use real loava rock in fishtanks

 

[AQUAN8TOR]

??? that's news to me. What seems to be described and pictured here is some sort of pumice, which IS a type of volcanic rock. Hmm... curious.

 

[MessyRoadKil]

Is it all good to use then? AWSOME!

 

[richard55]

I would think that it is to sharp to be used in a tank. If you need cheap rock make your own much safer and being made from crushed coral will look more natural. My .02

Richard

 

[MessyRoadKil]

Well. I mean its inert, right? I would think all Sharp edges could be sanded down. Ive seen this rock. it seems easy enough for me. Also I was going to use it In my FW because it didnt sound too good for "base" rock after a whiel/

 

[SCR]

Feather Rock

Feather Rock

I got to work on the rock today with a pressure washer and shaped it up a little. It took longer than I thought to make a hole in it. It help to chissel on it with a hammer to loose it up a bit. It need to be sanded with a corse sandpaper to knock down the edges and you need to wear gloves when handling the rock because of the glass.
Because the color doesn't match with what I have in the tank now, I'll be putting this rock in the refugum and use it for filtration.
I'll let it age in the refug. for a while and see what it looks like later.

 

[browardreefer]

once coraline coversit i dont think it will be bad

 

[Phildirt]

I have a piece in my FW tank. I don't see the problem with it, but some have posted concerns with metal/other chemical contamination from volcanoes as these were formed with volcanic gas bubbles with in the rock. The solid form is usually obsidian.

 

[browardreefer]

that is why u fidn the type that was a factrory byproduct.

 

[SCR]

The next thing that I'll will try is to cover the whole rock with oytergrete, this should fill over all of the sharp edges and make for a smoother surface. I will still have to cure it but should not take as long as a solid chunk of oystergrete. I will post some more pictures of what it looks like after I stucco the outside of the rock before starting the curing process and keep track of how long it takes to get the PH's down.

 

[Phildirt]

that is why u fidn the type that was a factrory byproduct.

I believe the by product that you are referring to may be what is called Slag and is from a smelting process.

 

[browardreefer]

yup i think so. if it isnt safe then that is not what i was talking about