Hi guys, was wondering if anyone knows if sandstone is safe to use in the aquarium? I am wanting to build some caves for my plecos and found sandstone cladding that will save me the mission of having to cut up slate. I like the rough look on the one side, which would be the outside of the caves while the inside is smooth. I did some reading online to see if sandstone is safe and got mixed opinions. Some said yes it's fine, others said no because it will affect the pH too much, while someone else said they only saw their pH go up by 0.5. Any opinions or experiences with sandstone? Here's what I bought.
i dont think it will harden your water? to my knowledge, sandstone is made of..sand.. which is made of quarts grains.. which doesnt harden your water.. i would be wary of using soft sand stone though as it may disintegrate over time in your tank..
I have some Sandstone in my tank and if affected the pH minimally. But I guess it depends on the piece itself. Some have a lot of calcium left in them, others have been washed by rains and stuff for years...
Just check that the glue they used is invert and aquarium safe. Best is to check in a bucket and test before and after, those rock used for cladding is sometimes not sandstone and is much harder
Should be fine... it is basically just quartz, feldspar, minor amounts of mica with possibly some carbonates in the cement... At worst it will raise your pH very slightly....
The water is SA is normally very soft, so you should be fine, even with the light increase in hardness.
Hi guys. Thanks for the responses. Sounds like it's Ok to use then. Think I'll do a bucket test before just to be safe. Other than pH what else should I test for? Just hardness? What test kit would I use for that? Think I'll do the old vinegar test too. Regarding the glue they used, I plan on breaking the pieces apart and then sticking together with silicone. So I'll clean of the glue they used.
You can use Pratley white If yo want it in place for eternity those stones should be safe in yor tank I see no veins etc in it so no visible iron etc
hmm.. not so dude.. many parts of sa have hard/harder water such as pta, centurion, jhb.. @mattlamm, we normally test for hardness as this affects your plant growth. so we prefer inert rocks. a bit of hardness is also not a bad thing. some of the ADA rocks make your water slightly harder too. we dont test for poisons because we dont have a means to. some rocks are just poisonous.. mainly the rocks with a copper chemical/mineral make up.