# Moss rock and white coral rock



## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

I wanted to ask about a couple of different rocks I found at the lock landscaping yard today.

First of all I am starting a new 10 gallon natural planted tank with a cork tile background so I can plant there as well. I wanted to build a small rock wall that would help hide my filter intake tube and the heater. The neatest rock I saw that I thought would go with my black gravel is moss rock, but I don't know if moss rock would be OK for an aquarium. They use it all the time for ponds here, put that is a different thing altogher so I thought I should check into it first.

The other kind of rock I saw there I thought I could use somewhere in a new cichlid tank I want to set up. It was called "white coral" and is actually very light weight like coral, but it is actually made of crushed concrete. It is very pretty, kind of porous and an off white color. It is not real big, perhaps 2" or 3" diameter I'd guess. It does contain lime as well the owner of the place said. When reading about paludariums they talk about making rock walls with cement so thought maybe this stuff would be OK.

I read the article in the library about rocks, but it didn't mention anything about these types of rock, so any help would be great!


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

u got pictures of the rocks?


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

Sorry it took so long to post these, it took a while to get to the landscape yard again. I found a better idea to hide stuff than building the rock wall so I don't need to use the moss rock, but here are pictures of the White Coral rock aka crushed concrete.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i like....and what is moss rock *** never heard of it?....maybe im juss sheltered :-?


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

> maybe im juss sheltered


No, I've had several folks ask on the other two planted aquarium forums where I have asked the same question about the moss rock.

Here is a link to a picture of moss rock in nature before they bring it into the landscape yard.

http://outside.danmitchell.org/2007/02/ ... tate-park/

Here is a picture of what it looks like when they bring it to the landscaping yard. As you can see all the moss is dried out. I can get pieces of this rock that are much smaller than the picture, but the picture gives a good idea of what it looks like.

http://www.qualityorganicproducts.com/i ... ssRock.JPG


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

wow that stuff is awesome ....im guessing they call it moss rock because of the moss that im guessing thrives on this rock?


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

> im guessing they call it moss rock because of the moss that im guessing thrives on this rock


Yep! :thumb:

I'm worried about it causing water qulity problems or possible algae though. Someone said to do the hydrocloride acid test on it and also to scrub it really good before putting it into the tank. Not sure if it wouldn't just be easier to find something else???


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

idk much about rocks the only rocks *** ever used are river rocks from the river down the street and holey rock from the LFS. If you have a body of water close by id juss go there with a couple of buckets...its free and u come across some relly cool rocks.


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks Brant. I am probably going to use some of the rocks I have a round here. I found some of the acid for fairly cheap, $4, which is still cheaper than buying rock.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

exactly...and most times u wont even need it...if your picking up rocks from outside and for some reason u think a rock would harm the fish just dont use it and find a different....unless ure relly attacthced the questioned rock and then yes the test will come in handy :thumb:


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## raggs715 (Mar 6, 2009)

i was going to buy the moss rock today at my landscape place, i got a BIG NO! from the owner he told me its a very pourus rock and the stories he has heard in tanks are 85% negative...

i ended up with 80 pounds of these guys

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigr=11rpi4ei4&sigi=11vughp7s&sigb=13b7635sn

easy to stack and the fish have been in and out of them all day then LOVE them....i also have white substrate and a jet black backround...ill post a pic tomorrow.


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the info raggs. It good to hear positive proof that moss rock won't work. The rock you've choosen is great! :thumb: I haven't seen anything like that at the rock yards here, but there are some pretty big river rock so I may be going that routte. Do find it is less expensive to buy rock form a landscape yard instead of an LFS?


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## raggs715 (Mar 6, 2009)

here is what the rocks look like in my tank, and the fish are soo much more happy then the slate i had in their... just stacking make millions of little caves and tunnels...










and yes, it was a hellovalot cheaper from the landscape yard...i bought 4 peices of rock once from my LFS and it cost me 5-10 bucks, here i bought 80 pounds for 40 bucks, you wont see these rocks in piles at most place they cam in 20 pound bags, good luck!


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## luver_of_fish (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the picture raggs. The rocks look great! BTW, do you use anything under them to keep the glass from breaking? I've read that some folks use an egg crate and that some use styrofoam.


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## raggs715 (Mar 6, 2009)

personally i do not, you can to disperse the weight a little but tempered glass is sooo strong you wont have any problems, also consider my tank is only 6 months old so its fairly new. i prob would with a tank older then 5 year....JUST to be safe IMO


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