Black Sea stones in a marine aquarium. Hello. Dear readers of the aquarist’s blog Aqua-As. In this article I want to tell you. About your application experience Black Sea stones, when setting up your marine aquarium.
The aquarium itself has a volume of 140 liters. There is no samp and there are no plans yet. I decided to take this step quite consciously. I will describe in detail why and for what reasons in a separate article. Which will be called a marine aquarium without a sump.
Are sea rocks suitable for an aquarium?
A friend brought a lot of beautiful stones from the sea.
She wanted to put them in the aquarium, but she doubted whether they would harm her freshwater fish. How do you think? Maybe they need to be pre-processed in some clever way so that they are free of bacteria and sea water residues? Thanks for answers! I brought sea stones and just boiled them for about 15 minutes and then placed them in an aquarium and I had them for about five years. Then I bought beautiful artificial ones for the aquarium and special soil, I am more satisfied with this bottom because it is convenient to plant plants in it, but sea stones can be placed in the aquarium after boiling.
Of course you can, this is the best option. Of course, the stones need to be washed, some people boil them, but I didn’t boil them, I just put them together like that. I also brought shells, they also decorated my aquarium. Many friends gave me shells and pebbles, I washed them and put them in the aquarium.
I have been keeping fish since childhood, for about forty years now, and from the very beginning to this day I have been using Black Sea pebbles. It’s already a tradition that if one of your relatives or friends goes on vacation at the seaside, he always brings a bag of the most beautiful and original pebbles found on the shore. They will not harm the fish, you just need to prepare them. I boil them for about an hour, then soak them in fresh water for a day, changing it periodically. Finally, I rinse it in running water under the tap and it’s done.
My friend has a large aquarium at home and she is a big fan of aquarium fish. When my husband and I go to the sea, I bring back very beautiful sea pebbles of different shapes and sizes; they decorate her aquarium. As far as I know, she never treats them with anything special, maybe she just keeps them in boiling water and then puts them in the aquarium.
It is not advisable to immediately pour it into the aquarium. There are special solutions in stores - to treat objects in the aquarium (artificial algae, shells, stones, compositions of limestone) or you can boil it as stated above... but not all bacteria die during normal boiling. I advise you to simply wash it under running water and baking soda. For example, pebbles can be placed in a basin, sprinkled with baking soda and rinsed in hot water.
Of course they will do, the main thing is to boil them, then cool them and everything can be used.
Last year I brought sea pebbles of different colors from the sea, collected them all along the coast, I wanted to decorate my aquarium. On the advice of friends, I dropped a couple of drops of acetic acid, there was no reaction (hissing). But I left them to soak in a bucket for a day, then washed them well until the white coating disappeared and to be on the safe side, I still boiled the pebbles for 2 hours, and then decorated the bottom of the aquarium. The algae grows beautifully, I didn’t notice any changes for the worse. But in principle, you also need to take into account what kind of fish your aquarium is populated with .Sea pebbles slightly increase water hardness. Brown stones especially increase hardness - they contain a lot of iron. And pay attention that the stones are not sharp. But I don’t recommend using corals - they quickly become clogged with organic matter, they are difficult to clean and can injure the fish.
I put sea rocks in my freshwater aquarium water two years ago. They are still lying there. The fish were not harmed. The white stones are colored from the blue that I periodically add to the water. And now they look like pigeon eggs” title=”cheeky” w >. And so – the beauty and memory of the trip to the sea is in plain sight. I processed it as usual - by boiling. It is unlikely that there is any salt left there after such a procedure. They say that sea stones without sea water change color to the color of ordinary pebbles. My stones remained as they were. I brought mostly white ones. I don’t know what will happen to the Reds.
I put such stones in my aquarium only on the advice of experienced aquarists, boiled them in tap water and then, when the stones cooled down, I placed them as I wanted to make a sea food in my aquarium. This is how it is possible and necessary to process not only sea stones and any objects before putting them in the aquarium, for example, a beautiful snag from the river or something else.
How to boil
How to clean stones in such a way as to destroy all infection? Boil them. In water heated to 80-85°, salt dissolves much more actively, plus all germs and microorganisms are destroyed. To ensure additional disinfection, all pebbles are dried by placing them on a clean surface so that they are exposed to sunlight.
But how long should you boil the stones? 3-4 minutes is enough. To enhance the effect, all pebbles are divided into 2-3 parts - this improves the boiling effect.
If sea stones were chosen, how long should you boil them? There is no difference between river, sea or lake rocks. The whole point is in soaking: so, if ordinary granite was soaked only once and then boiled, then this cannot be done with sea stones. They should be soaked up to four to five times due to their high salt content. The first time you should leave the stones to soak for the whole night, and then you need to change the water throughout the day. And only in the evening they can be boiled and then dried.
Thus, by properly boiling the stones, it will be possible to prevent:
- Blooms, pollution and turbidity of water;
- The occurrence of diseases and, as a result, death of fish;
- An unpleasant odor emanating from the aquarium.
What type of soil is this?
Rocks (usually sandstone, granite, marble or gypsum) erode over time, and their fragments are washed by water. Such pieces of rock washed to varying degrees are pebbles. The diameter of the fragments can be from 1 millimeter to 15 centimeters (from 2 to 6 mm are suitable for an aquarium). Most often, such filler is beautiful and multi-colored, which looks especially beneficial if the fish and plants are not bright enough.
Me too!
Originally posted by IgorC
And I have one from the Mediterranean Sea!
There's a long story here. When it was already decided that we would start an aquarium, we were in Antalya and there, ahead of time, we collected small sea pebbles on the beach. When it actually started to launch, was a similar question discussed in the old forum? Opinions, as always, differ. This puzzled me, so I checked it experimentally by pouring purchased soil and pebbles from the sea into 2 jars. A week later I checked and the sea water hardness had increased.
I tried it with acetic acid and it bubbled. In general, all this sea catch was rejected and was lying around somewhere at home.
Over time, I organized a quarantine shelter, bought a small 15 liter jar, remembered the Mediterranean reserves, and decided to use them. AND EVERYTHING IS NORMAL, the plants are simple, but they grow, and the fish also feel good. There are really few permanent residents there, and they are not picky, but still.
In a 100-liter jar, marble white chips have been covering the bottom for a year now; no visible changes in the behavior of fish (neons, angelfish, labeo, etc.) or plants have been observed.
Properties
Here are some of the properties of this natural filler:
- Resistance to damage Due to the presence of a certain proportion of quartzite in the composition of the pebbles, it becomes resistant to various damages, and therefore can retain its presentation for quite a long time.
- Water resistance Low hygroscopicity is another useful property of pebbles. Due to its structure, it almost does not deteriorate in water, as a result of which the aquarium retains its beauty for a long time.
- Decorative properties These pebbles consist of many individual fragments of different colors, with its help you can create a motley and multi-colored bottom of the aquarium, which will delight the eye for a long time.
Varieties
There are two main types of pebbles for aquariums:
A short video on the topic:
Marine
The predominant color is white (and other light colors), this stone is flatter and has a smoother surface than other types. Before placing it in the aquarium, it is recommended to rinse it well to remove salt deposits.
River
It is distinguished by a much greater variety of colors and a more convex shape, and sometimes larger sizes compared to the sea one. The surface is more rough. Also needs to be washed before use.
Application
This soil is used as aquarium filler. Before use, you must first rinse the pebbles with warm running water to remove clay and sand particles, stirring gently.
Advice! It is not recommended to use disinfectants; they can be poorly washed off or absorbed and enter the aquarium, poisoning the water.
Then, for better disinfection, you can boil it for 1-2 hours in an aluminum container, then cool it in the same water and spread it out in a thin layer to dry, or bake it in the oven, without making the temperature too high (otherwise some stones may crack and uneven edges will damage the fish).
What to do if the pebbles hiss?
Sometimes, when testing with vinegar, such a filler may hiss . This means that it makes the water harder and alkalizes it. You can soften the water by boiling it, passing it through an osmotic purification system or buying bottled water, then there will be less hissing, but it cannot be completely removed, since this filler in any case makes the water harder.
Important! It is better for a novice aquarist not to use sizzling soil.
Adding ennobling chemicals will not help either. This is not so scary, there are fish that tolerate hard and alkalized water well, but for plants, hard water is not a very good option, the optimal pH is 6-7.
The pebble bottom is cleaned in the same way as other types of fillers using a siphon.
Diverse inhabitants of the residential complex
One of the most common and desirable inhabitants of the LC is algae called cortical scarlet . These are calcareous algae, colored red in different shades. Outwardly they resemble terrestrial crustose lichens. Their very presence is an indicator of the excellent quality of the stones. But algae such as caulerpa cannot withstand dry transportation, so a stone covered with the remains of dead caulerpa will have to be carefully cleaned of them. It is better to refuse such a purchase altogether, otherwise it will definitely provoke an outbreak of nitrites in the aquarium.
Caulerpa grapes
Very often, small sessile invertebrates are found on living rocks, including stony corals (zoanthids, porites, sea anemones, clavularia). If they like the conditions in the aquarium where they are placed, then they are quite capable of taking root and growing. Bivalves, sponges, and sea squirts for the most part do not tolerate transportation and do not perceive aquarium conditions as acceptable for themselves. But if they survive, touching them and moving them from the stone to another place is highly discouraged - this can be fatal for the delicate creature.
Transportation and calculation of the required quantity of residential complexes
The optimal volume of live rocks is from a third to a half of the aquarium volume. But sometimes you have to be cunning, reducing this figure. Firstly, due to the considerable cost of the residential complex. Secondly, due to the need to take into account the needs of the inhabitants of the aquarium. For example, active fish that are constantly on the move and need free space to swim.
In general, for each specific aquarium the exact number of live stones is calculated very approximately:
- for aquariums with fish and unpretentious invertebrates - from ten to twenty kilograms of FA for every hundred liters of volume (that is, from 10 to 20 percent);
- for reef aquariums - from twenty to fifty kilograms of liquid crystals for every hundred liters of volume (from 20 to 50 percent).
Live rocks in a marine aquarium
Live stones are transported without water, but in a damp state (for example, wrapped in polyethylene or wet paper), packed in special foam insulated containers.
It is advisable that the entire journey of living stone from supplier to buyer should not take more than thirty-six hours.
If the liquid crystals are delayed on the road and overheated (in summer) or overcooled (in winter), then most of the organisms on their surface and in the pores die, causing the living stone to significantly lose quality.
Finally
Pet stores do the preliminary preparation (exposure) of live stones. This preparation includes cleaning their surface (without fanaticism) from dead algae and other living creatures. Then - aging in a container with sea water with good lighting and aeration, as well as frequent water changes. When most of the dead organic matter has been processed, the stone is ready for sale.
Over time, FAs age like any other living organism, that is, their filtering capabilities deteriorate: the filter-feeding animals living in their cavities die, the pores become clogged with algae. If the entire biopurification system in the aquarium is built exclusively on live stones, the process of their extinction must be kept in mind, and new stones must be added every one to three years, or old ones must be replaced.
What are stones for in an aquarium and where to get them?
Many types of aquarium animals require a wide variety of conditions to survive. For some underwater inhabitants, minerals do not play any role - they are just a decorative element. For other pets, rocky design of the pond is vital.
Why are minerals used in aquariums?
- saturate water with microelements;
- change water hardness;
- create natural conditions for reproduction and growth;
- change the acidity of water;
- help the fry hide from their older predatory relatives;
- create living conditions for underwater plants.
There are also aerator (finely porous) stones.
They are connected to a hollow tube and a compressor. A mineral aquarium aerator breaks the air flow into small oxygen bubbles.
Stones for the aquarium, types:
- natural – fossils or sedimentary, volcanic, hydrothermal rocks;
- artificial - imitations are made from glass, ceramics, non-toxic plastic;
- grottoes and other compositions made of natural minerals are glued and painted not always with high-quality materials.
For beginners, it is advisable to buy aquarium stones in pet stores or on specialized online sites. Owners with experience look for minerals along rivers and lakes, in the forest, and for marine life - along the shores of salty reservoirs.
Additionally, see how to decorate an aquarium yourself:
How to select and process stones for an aquarium
Before purchasing or searching, compare the characteristics of natural breeds with the living conditions of underwater pets. Artificial stones are selected according to the shape of the product.
What minerals are suitable for an aquarium:
| Sprinkling soil for planting | Size 5–15 mm |
| Design, creation of natural conditions for survival | Less than 15 cm in height, light, with a wide base |
| To increase water hardness | White sandstone, tuff (some types), shales, fossils, shellstone, limestone, dolomite and marble |
| To reduce water acidity | White sandstone, limestone, calcareous tuff |
| For decoration or creating survival conditions (do not affect water quality) | Solidified lava, gray sandstone, gneiss, quartzites, granite, quartz |
Kenyan stone is suitable for aquariums with cichlids. This is a porous light mineral that increases water hardness and alkalinity. Harmful to tropical and other soft water fish.
Containers over 100 liters are often decorated with Hungarian or Carpathian stone.
Minerals are suitable for keeping freshwater or marine fish, shrimp, crayfish, and turtles. Sea stones are used in aquariums with pets and plants living in salt water.
Baikalskaya - good
The water in Baikal is very soft. Therefore, the rock there contains few minerals that increase hardness.
Regular, Advisor
In one aquarium, the hardness of water in my aquarium, compared to settled tap water and another aquarium, increases from 10–11 degrees to 14–15. I blame the Baikal soil “Barguzin”, although I have not carried out a detailed investigation, since such an increase in hardness is not critical for my fish.
Originally posted by Diman
By the way, I have a counter question: No one has put stoloctites - stolomites (sediments in caves are different) into the aquarium. I would like to stuff them - they are beautiful, but I don’t know what the fish will say?
Live rocks in the aquarium
Living rocks include corals with algae, microorganisms and animals that survive after being collected on the reef. Suitable for marine aquariums.
Benefits of living corals:
- have spaces for hiding fry;
- filter water;
- are an additional source of nutrition and microelements;
- populated by beneficial microorganisms (bacteria, plankton, crustaceans, etc.);
- increase the survival and immunity of sea pets;
- oxidize nitrogen secretions of aquarium animals;
- support the marine ecosystem of the reservoir;
- destroy pathogenic bacteria.
The disadvantages of corals include the risk of colonizing aquariums with dangerous animals. These are carnivorous crabs, mantis crabs, and fire polychaete worms.
The danger is posed by samples from containers with sick fish or those with non-compliance with transportation and quarantine conditions. They disrupt the ecosystem, poison the water, and infect pets.
Features of choosing live corals:
- samples are collected from well-maintained commercial ponds;
- take corals with bright colors (faded ones are not viable);
- high-quality specimens are covered with crusty purple spots and contain invertebrates;
- samples should occupy less than 50% of the volume of the home aquarium;
- branched openwork corals are suitable for small inhabitants.
They are quarantined at home. Live corals are placed in a separate container with aquarium water. Large mantis crayfish are caught using traps. The crabs are removed and their feeding habits are checked. Carnivores are destroyed and vegetarians are returned to the coral.
Before placing in the aquarium, the corals are washed and dead areas are removed. Disinfect with a product from a pet store. Heat treatment is prohibited. After installation, the population of worms, sea anemones, and algae is controlled.
Main advantages
- The launch of a biological system is faster and easier.
- The potential mortality of new inhabitants is significantly reduced, their coloration improves, and their immunity is strengthened. And in the event of diseases, the severity of their course is reduced.
- Hydrochemical parameters are stabilized.
- Decorative design, that is, the design of a marine aquarium looks more natural.
It is especially important to use live rock in reef aquariums, which are the most demanding in terms of maintenance conditions.
It is hardly possible to obtain an artificial analogue or other replacement for living stones in the near future.
Tips for choosing rocks for your aquarium
Any aquarist wants his aquarium to look beautiful and interesting, but at the same time preserve its natural environment. Often you don’t need to invent something new, but just add something that is often found in nature. One of these “highlights” for decoration can be aquarium stones. They perfectly complement the interior, and due to their unusual shape they make the design unique in its own way. In nature, stones in water serve as a completely natural part of the habitat. Fish spawn in them, and sometimes they simply hide from predators.
Let's first figure out what types of aquarium stones are divided into. They can be divided into 2 main groups and have their own subspecies:
- Artificial
- Natural (natural) origin
- Natural origin
- Processed
Artificial ones can be purchased at a pet store. They are made from safe and non-toxic plastics. The choice ranges from cheap multi-colored glass pebbles to more expensive ones that look more like real ones.
Processed ones are also sold in pet stores, usually in the form of compositions in the form of caves, rocks, grottoes. One of the disadvantages is that to create such compositions you need to glue the stones (but ordinary glue can negatively affect the environment) and paint, and also often use fragile material. The better the processing, the higher the price.
Basic design options for stone compositions
Not everyone, even an experienced aquarist, let alone beginners, knows how to decorate an aquarium with fish with a stone composition. After all, the design of the tank should be unobtrusive, beautiful and stylistically correct. But for this it is not at all necessary to invent something masterly and unique on your own; you can create a composition in one of the styles that are popular at the present time.
- Decoration in Dutch style. It resembles a full-fledged flowerbed with green, red and other plants, only located under water. In such an aquarium there are many green plants, but they are all sorted by size, color and height, have their own clearly defined place, and therefore do not creep into “foreign” territory. In this case, the role of pebbles, namely pebbles and shell rock, will be to imitate paths between flower beds.
- Stone composition in Japanese style. Here, too, there is an imitation of terrestrial living vegetation, but of a different kind. In this style, the stones will not be used as a substrate, but as iwagumi - a typical stone composition of Japanese gardens. In this case, excessive decorations are not appropriate, since minimalism is welcomed in the design. In order to achieve picturesqueness, cobblestones are selected in different sizes.
- Decorating an aquarium with stones in a pseudo-natural style. An excellent option for those people who do not want to spend a lot of effort on decorating both a large and small aquarium. This style is characterized by a minimum of effort and money costs, and therefore has a fairly simple appearance. Granite, shell rock and pebbles will fit well into such an atmosphere.
- Decorating an aquarium in a natural style. This style is rightfully considered one of the most difficult to reproduce, so only experienced aquarists resort to it. The purpose of this design is to recreate as accurately as possible a certain section of the bottom of the reservoir in the aquarium.
Making rocks for an aquarium with your own hands
Of course, you can’t assemble them from any materials, unless you glue them together and paint them, but this can be toxic for the inhabitants, but it’s quite possible to find stones for the aquarium with your own hands.
Suitable places to choose may be quarries where building stone is mined (for example, marble or granite), sea or river banks. Sea stones are in good demand. They can become part of your interior, and due to the fact that they were brought from the sea, they will add a special exoticism.
There are certain rules that are followed when choosing:
- Choose light stones so that if they fall they will not damage the aquarium. And also keep in mind that the base should be smaller than the top, because you can put them, and after some time in the water they may fall.
- Stones affect the aquatic environment, so find out in advance what effect they have on the water, i.e. making it more alkaline or softer. The water must meet the necessary conditions for the fish living in it.
- They should not crumble or crumble under mechanical stress.
- There should be no stains or odor on the surface, as they indicate the presence of metal or impurities that cannot be washed off.
- Check for any sharp corners or protrusions (i.e. flatter, blunter edges) so your fish can't get hurt on them.
You need to choose darker types, because they look most advantageous as decorations.
On the contrary, it is forbidden to use and place pebbles found near quarries and mines, collected in places contaminated with pesticides or radiation, and you should not take ore, because it is metal and is dangerous for fish.
One of the popular types of stones is sandstone. It belongs to sedimentary rocks, formed by mixing sand and clay. It is represented by a large variety of varieties, but only hard and durable sandstone can be used, because soft and fragile begins to affect the water, which can harm the inhabitants.
They also distinguish Kenyan stone (often also called Kenya). It also belongs to sedimentary rocks and is one of the most beautiful species. Its shape is uneven and its structure is porous. In nature, it is formed by mixing limestone, calcite, and sometimes shells. Due to this, it is suitable for water with a high alkaline composition and hardness.
Stones from black
The same story. I brought beautiful pebbles from the shore near Chemitokvadzhe (2 stops from Lazarevsky). We don’t sell this under any guise or for any money - it’s soft pink with a fade to white. So, as for buying in a store - whatever you like, but you won’t find anything like it. I was carrying 150 liters in my backpack (well, it’s clear that there were things there too), that is
There were 30 - 40 kg of stones there (the shoulders and legs were cracking, but what can you do for the sake of it.) I boiled everything once or twice, and put it in the aquarium. The Malawians seem happy, others live with them - they don’t complain. Just put it in the aquarium and that’s it. By the way, I have a counter question: No one has put stoloctites - stolomites (sediments in caves are different) into the aquarium. I would like to stuff them - they are beautiful, but I don’t know what the fish will say?
And I have one from the Mediterranean Sea!
Treatment
It is advisable to carry out the processing even if you purchased them in a store.
- It is necessary to rinse it well, and then clean it with a stiff bristle brush. It is good to clean, not wash.
- Dry.
- Take acetic, sulfuric or hydrochloric acid and drop it onto the surface. If a reaction occurs - the appearance of gas bubbles or the appearance of orange or green spots, then they are unsuitable. This is due to the fact that when interacting with acid, iron and copper begin to manifest themselves. Unfortunately, pebbles cannot be washed away from containing such foreign elements.
- If the acid test was successful, then rinse it again under running water.
- Let's boil. You need to cook for 20-30 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat it well in the oven for 20 minutes.
- After boiling, the prepared stones need to be given time to cool, after which they can be placed in the aquarium.
This is a fairly simple and effective way to prepare rocks for your aquarium so that no problems arise in the future. It is necessary to boil or heat the stone in the oven, since a brush will not be able to wash off all microorganisms.
Tell me what to drip with - then I’ll check!
Originally posted by Diman
By the way, I have a counter question: No one has put stoloctites - stolomites (sediments in caves are different) into the aquarium. I would like to stuff them - they are beautiful, but I don’t know what the fish will say?
Stalactites-stalagmites are formed in limestone caves and consist mainly of calcite - hence the conclusions! Acid dropped onto such pebbles reacts violently with the contents.
Tell me what to drip with - then I’ll check!
Originally posted by Diman
[Tell me what to drip with - then I’ll check!
Any acid. Geologists use hydrochloric acid (HCL). And so, at least with vinegar essence.
[Edited: 9/23/2002 written by Nikita]
Raid
One of the most common problems that arise is that the stones begin to turn green. You can get rid of this. Water and other surfaces often turn green or black. This indicates the appearance of algae. This is not a serious problem, but it is the first sign that the water in the aquarium is starting to bloom, so it is still advisable not to ignore it.
To remove green or black deposits, you just need to carefully monitor the aquarium. Don’t forget to do water changes, don’t add too much food to the fish, check that the filter is working properly and, most importantly, monitor the length of daylight hours. It should not be too large, because excess light is one of the main reasons for the appearance of algae. Special products purchased in the store can also help in getting rid of plaque. Before removing it, the plaque itself is cleaned with a scraper from all accessible places. But without caring for the aquarium, no matter how much you peel off, the algae will not just go away.
We launch stones for the productive functioning of the ecosystem
What needs to be done for the LCD to “work” as a full-fledged biofilter?
- Form a harmonious reef landscape from stones of different sizes.
- Organize a flow with different flow powers (it is advisable to use at least 3-4 pumps to eliminate the possibility of stagnant zones).
- Use wave generators and current controllers (the current should be moderately strong, but soft so that the soft corals do not bend under it).
A reef aquarium is not a flowing river; it is important to ensure smooth movement of the entire volume of water.
