making rock formations

[Mariachi]

Hi,
I am planning on creating a few caves w/ rocks for my new tank. I read
the stuff re Rocks etc on Netmax site and went collecting....just have
a few questions though:

1) one of the rocks i found is slightly green, is there a way to test
for copper is should I just not use it?
2) site mentioned use of styrofoam on the base of the aquarium before
putting the rocks on. Can i just use a piece of styrofoam made for the
base of the aquarium (obviously a smaller piece) Do I need to clean
under or? Or do i just chuck it in there, put the rocks up and pile on
the gravel and never worry about it again??
3) If i want to stick the rocks together so they don't fall over (i
plan on stacking them to make arbour type structures) is aquarium
safe silicone suitable?
4) Some of the stuff I picked up was quartz. Is that ok If i want a
soft acidic tank? I've read stuff re quartz but can't remember if it is
inert or not.

Thanks in advance!!

[NetMax]

A few comments below, and hopefully others will fill in any remaining
blanks or correct any errors.

"Mariachi" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi,
> I am planning on creating a few caves w/ rocks for my new tank. I read
> the stuff re Rocks etc on Netmax site and went collecting....just have
> a few questions though:
>
> 1) one of the rocks i found is slightly green, is there a way to test
> for copper is should I just not use it?

In a pail with some shrimp. Shrimp live and it is not copper. That
would be my guess.

> 2) site mentioned use of styrofoam on the base of the aquarium before
> putting the rocks on. Can i just use a piece of styrofoam made for the
> base of the aquarium (obviously a smaller piece) Do I need to clean
> under or? Or do i just chuck it in there, put the rocks up and pile on
> the gravel and never worry about it again??

Last line. Chuck it in, place rocks (and I usually raise the water level
slowly as the rock pile goes up so I can keep my forward perspective),
and then fill in with gravel/sand etc.

> 3) If i want to stick the rocks together so they don't fall over (i
> plan on stacking them to make arbour type structures) is aquarium
> safe silicone suitable?

Yes, but the rock surface must be suitable when applying the silicone
(dry and some gripping texture), and you will be limited by what you can
do with these later on (glued together). I tend to work with horizontal
pieces, working with 3s. Put 3 flat stones down at the same height. Now
a flat stone across these will be flat and secure (tripod). Repeat with
other piles. Now you have 2 levels which are secure. A 3rd level
connects your tripods and continue up from there, wiggling the structure
to test for its integrity. In a 12" wide tank, I can pile rocks to above
the waterline, with no fear of collapse, however it takes a lot of rocks,
half of which are not used because they don't have the right look/shape.
Budget 200lbs of rocks to use 100lbs (I keep a miniature quarry spread
out in old milk crates ;~).

> 4) Some of the stuff I picked up was quartz. Is that ok If i want a
> soft acidic tank? I've read stuff re quartz but can't remember if it is
> inert or not.

I can't recall either, but I think it is inert. A drop of pH down should
test it, or chip a piece into a small glass of RO and test after a few
days. Maybe someone else can add their experience.

> Thanks in advance!!

cheers & have fun
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Altum]

NetMax wrote:

> "Mariachi" > wrote in message

>> 4) Some of the stuff I picked up was quartz. Is that ok If i want a
>> soft acidic tank? I've read stuff re quartz but can't remember if it is
>> inert or not.
>
> I can't recall either, but I think it is inert. A drop of pH down should
> test it, or chip a piece into a small glass of RO and test after a few
> days. Maybe someone else can add their experience.

Quartz is silicon dioxide and it's totally inert. Much of the natural
sand and gravel we put in tanks has a quartz base, and the main chemical
in glass is silicon dioxide.

If your quartz has large veins of other minerals, it's still prudent to
test it as NetMax has suggested.

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