Pea Gravel Question

[Keith Hatfull]

I went to a couple of different places that had pea gravel in bags,
found some busted open and snitched a handful of each. Came home, and
washed it reasonably and then dumped both into separate bowls of
vinegar. The one with smaller grains had, maybe 2-4 grains that slowly
gave off bubbles, the one with the larger grains had none. Would having
2-4 such grains per about a quarter cup of gravel be enough to adversely
effect water chemistry or is this just too little of a percentage to
bother with? Opinions?

Thanks,

Keith

[W]

"Keith Hatfull" > wrote in message
...
> I went to a couple of different places that had pea gravel in bags,
> found some busted open and snitched a handful of each. Came home, and
> washed it reasonably and then dumped both into separate bowls of
> vinegar. The one with smaller grains had, maybe 2-4 grains that slowly
> gave off bubbles, the one with the larger grains had none. Would having
> 2-4 such grains per about a quarter cup of gravel be enough to adversely
> effect water chemistry or is this just too little of a percentage to
> bother with? Opinions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Keith

Thieves suck.

[Keith Hatfull]

W wrote:

> "Keith Hatfull" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I went to a couple of different places that had pea gravel in bags,
>>found some busted open and snitched a handful of each. Came home, and
>>washed it reasonably and then dumped both into separate bowls of
>>vinegar. The one with smaller grains had, maybe 2-4 grains that slowly
>>gave off bubbles, the one with the larger grains had none. Would having
>>2-4 such grains per about a quarter cup of gravel be enough to adversely
>>effect water chemistry or is this just too little of a percentage to
>>bother with? Opinions?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Keith
>
>
> Thieves suck.

Had the bags not already been broken and spilled half their contents on
the ground I certainly wouldn't have broken one for a handful. At Home
Depot I asked a garden employee, he didn't have a problem. At Frank's I
couldn't find someone to ask so since half the bag was strewn about the
ground anyway, I didn't see the harm in taking 1/4c of gravel to test.

Oh, and at least have the balls to use your name and e-mail "W".

[CanadianCray]

It depends on the setup you are doing? What type of fish are you going to
keep?

--
Craig Williams
_________________________________

www.Canadiancray.tk
"Keith Hatfull" > wrote in message
...
> I went to a couple of different places that had pea gravel in bags,
> found some busted open and snitched a handful of each. Came home, and
> washed it reasonably and then dumped both into separate bowls of
> vinegar. The one with smaller grains had, maybe 2-4 grains that slowly
> gave off bubbles, the one with the larger grains had none. Would having
> 2-4 such grains per about a quarter cup of gravel be enough to adversely
> effect water chemistry or is this just too little of a percentage to
> bother with? Opinions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Keith

[nanoreef]

Keith Hatfull wrote
> Would having
> 2-4 such grains per about a quarter cup of gravel be enough to adversely
> effect water chemistry or is this just too little of a percentage to
> bother with? Opinions?

If probably calcium carbonate or a related mineral. Calcium carbonate
dissolves readily in mildly acidic water so even small ammounts will
affect the water chemistry. But it will only raise the pH to a low 8
before it practically stops disolving. This is good news if you want
to keep fish that prefer harder alkaline water. But it is no
substitute for a proper buffer or hardwater salt mix. If your tap
water is soft and acidic I would not use this rock without a mix as
you risk pH shock everytime you do a water change.

If the rock is another type of carbonate it could be just dust from
the rock crusher. You may find that after giving the rock a good rinse
it does not dissolve as quickly.

If you like this gravel and plan on keeping hard alkaline water fish,
then I would suggest that you buy a bag of it and run a longer
test. If it is for a new tank set the tank up with the gravel and
without any fish. Otherwise dump some of the gravel in a
bucket. (don't forget to rinse the rocks first) Fill the tank or
bucket with dechlorinated water. If you have a spare filter,
powerhead, or airstone add it to the bucket. Every (other) day test
the water for pH and Hardness. It should reach equilibrium in a few
weeks. You may need a high range pH kit.

As a bonus if you are setting up a new tank you can run a fishless
cycle at the same time.