petclub base rock

[Mel-E-Mel]

so i was at petclub earlier during lunch and i happen to see base rock for sale. they called it "bowl rock". i asked the clerk if they were ok to use for a reef aquarium and he said it was and that a few people have used it in there system. it was some real nice pieces ranging from shelf to nice cave formations. i would like to try and soak them and see if it leeches anything bad but the thing is i dont know what to test for. Anyone got any input? better yet has anyone tried any of these rocks?

 

[hiepatitis]

Rommel,

I would cure it first. Put it in a container with a powerhead or airstone for water movement and a skimmer. Test for ammonia. Initially there will be a lot of die off if the rock has not been cured. You should do frequent water changes if the ammonia levels don't drop. Once the ammonia is undetectable, test for nitrite and nitrate doing water changes as needed. Once the nitrites and nitrates are gone it should be good to go.

 

[CookieJar]

I've got a lot of rock from my tank from their 'bowl rock' section. There are a lot of nice pieces to choose from. I washed the rocks and for the rocks that had the orange fungus stuff I wire brushed them off. I haven't had any problems in my tank so far.
I also saw a lot of pieces (and got a few) from Dolphin Pet Village. They've got a few bins too.

 

[tuberider]

I use bowl rock all the time, the only issues I've had have been excess lichen, and a lot of dust/debris in the little pockets. Otherwise it grows corraline well. It also stacks well for caves and overhangs.

 

[Mel-E-Mel]

thanks for the info guys. think ill buy a couple pounds next week and cure it and see how it goes.

Tuberider, what is Lichen? i know you said your not having any problems so far, i would just like to know what that is.

Thanks!

 

[-=Zepplock=-]

I think a good freshwater dip (for 2-3 days) won't hurt.

 

[tuberider]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10025444#post10025444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rommelgin


Tuberider, what is Lichen? i know you said your not having any problems so far, i would just like to know what that is.

Thanks!

lichen Not a big deal really, it's just tough and takes a while to breakdown resulting in a low level nutrient output. Nothing a hose and a wire brush can't fix.

 

[TikiDan]

i have about 40 lbs of it in my 125g, and you cant tell the difference.

 

[GreshamH]

Bowl rock AKA lace rock is volcanic in source. Do a search on what lace rock contains and then you second guess it's use.

Having set up lace rock tanks and seen the long term effects I would never recommend using it, nor will I ever use it again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyolite

due to their high content of silica and low iron and magnesium contents

 

[Mel-E-Mel]

Interesting article Gresham. Thank you. Good thing i asked. Im curiuos...to everyone that has it in there system, i know you all said you have not had any ill effects, but how much bowl rock do you have in your systems?? Did you start off the tank with it...added to mature system... how much live rock to base rock etc etc. Appreciate the feed back.

 

[CookieJar]

I've used a few pieces of that rock for my 55gal w/o problems for about 1 year. I've added about 70 lbs. in my 180 but that's only been up for about 4 months, so I can't speak to any long term issues. Even if I had any it'd be hard to attribute it to the rocks since there are so many other things that could go wrong.
Just for clarity, I'm talking about the white, porous rock, not the dark lava rock.

 

[tuberider]

I must be mixed up... The stuff I see labeled as bowl rock is very dense, has large bubble shaped holes, and is mostly flat dark very obviously lava rock, IIRC it comes from Nevada or Utah somewhere. Then there's what I see labeled as tufa rock, lighter in density in density, lighter in color. Round shapes that crumble in sort of a chalky manner. I'm confused.

 

[CookieJar]

The PetClub I've gone to in Rengstorff Shopping Center has almost no lava rock, it's all the base rock stuff in 2 large bins. The other bin is flat rock which isn't for reef tanks. Their base rock costs $1.50/ lb. I believe. That should clarify what kind of rock I'd get from them.

 

[Mel-E-Mel]

CookieJar, thats exactly the same petclub i mentioned and the same rocks ($1.50/lb bowl rock) i was questioning.

 

[CookieJar]

Yep, those are the rocks. I stop by there anytime I get the itch to do some new aquascaping and go through the bins. With all the rock pieces there's lots of possibilities. I do have to sometimes brush clean the orange fungus (linkin?) and then I wash the rocks clean before puttin them in my tank.

I do wonder if other PetClubs have the same amout of rock for sale since sometimes I can't find the piece I want.

 

[TikiDan]

I have about 40 lbs of bowl rock that I took out of my fresh water tank when I broke it down. The rocks have been in my reef for about 3 years along with about 150 lbs. of LR and honestly, once the corraline took over I forgot which rocks where the bowl rocks because they all look the same now. I have never noticed anything bad from using them.