I am wanting to determine if it is possible to create artificial inserts to increase the surface area inside my aquarium. The idea is to approximate the surface area of 100lbs of Fiji or Tonga rock - I assume the porosity is known by someone. From the porosity if I know the weight i should be able to solve for surface area, right?
Rock porosity and surface area
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I'd be somewhat surprised if you can generate useful surface area info. Traditional surface area measurements that scientists use will not be especially useful if you want to know how much bacterial surface attachment area you have, for example.
Not only will you have to decide how small of a pore you'd count below which you would not, you also need to decide how much contact it needs to have with the outside water to count it. Then of course, you'd need a method that fit that set of criteria.
For example, water may be able to penetrate pores much smaller than the size of a bacteria. Do you want to count those? There may also be pockets where the exchange of chemicals between the pore interior and the bulk water takes days or weeks. Would you count that?
Not only will you have to decide how small of a pore you'd count below which you would not, you also need to decide how much contact it needs to have with the outside water to count it. Then of course, you'd need a method that fit that set of criteria.
For example, water may be able to penetrate pores much smaller than the size of a bacteria. Do you want to count those? There may also be pockets where the exchange of chemicals between the pore interior and the bulk water takes days or weeks. Would you count that?
wayne in norway
New member
Plus you need the permeabilty modelling. Limestones can be quite porous but the permeability is not often too good. Lots of pores not in contact with each other or the pores are blocked. Both permeability and porosity are horribly variable
