# what type of rock is this? is it safe?



## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

found them around the construction site where they are building my sister's new house. it would seem that they used a truck load of it to fill in the hole where the driveway will be. they are the size of a fist.


----------



## Joea (May 25, 2004)

Looks like ordinary, everyday ol' rock. Give it a scrub with some warm water first, it should be fine.


----------



## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Try the vinegar test. Scratch the surface and pour on some vinegar, if it fizzes it isnâ€™t any good. By the looks of it you should be OK, but better to be safe than sorry.


----------



## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

the vinegar test tells nothing except if the rock contains calcium.

and even if it does contain calcium this doesn't make it worthless for a tank. though you'd have to think about what tank you put it in, in a soft acidic tank this would raise the TDS and make it more alkaline, but in a hard alkaline tank there would be no noticeable affect. in fact it may beuseful to put calciferous rocks in to ensure the tank stays alkaline.

that said it looks like limestone to me (more a guess though, I'm no geologist) which is calciferous so not one I'd use in the soft acidic tank if I wanted it to stay that way


----------



## ArcticCatRider (Jul 13, 2007)

not that I know, but it looks ok, and almost seems like just regular drainage rock you'd see on the side of the road, or around places where water washes out, so they use them...
But idk, it looks like it contains no metals or anything in it....


----------



## mccluggen (Jul 5, 2008)

Don't know for sure, but that looks like grey limestone, would make sense too because they use quarried limestone for filler a lot. It's soft, cheap, and easy to come by.

Try the vinegar test, if it fizzes it's probably limestone or something similar. Perfectly safe for an African tank.


----------



## Guest (Sep 3, 2008)

Looks like limestone or granite/basalt.

Either way I am confident by the looks of it that it is safe for your tank... just give it a good rinse...


----------



## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

X2 for granite. What does it taste like?


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

My friend actually paid money to buy the exact same rocks from a lfs. I wanna say like a buck or 2 a lb. Clean them and throw them in. They look nice.


----------



## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

Around here we call it "rip-rap" 
From the Latin "ripitus-rapiteus" 
(not really, just kidding)  
Rip-rap is used to hold the banks of drainage ditches so that they don't wash out.
Looks ok to me, but then...


> What does it taste like?


 :lol:
Alicem


----------



## 671013364270 (Sep 9, 2008)

Looks like crushed slate to me.
I have tons of it in my driveway and it is often used as fill.
What I used also had some white quartz mixed in .
Really looks nice in the tank.
Hope this helps.
Paul


----------

