What kind of Rock? I need help.

[Flipper]

I'd appreciate it if someone could help me identify this rock.  🙂

I bought it at a LFS but it was a single piece.  They had it stuck inside a dry demo tank, as a decoration.  I thought it was so cool (this was last year).  It resembles a big chunk of fatty bacon 🥓

Oh, and on 1 side, the white stripe is an inch wide all the way across.

[Guppysnail]

That is the prettiest fatty bacon I’ve ever seen. @Sarina ? 

[Flipper]

Wow that quick.  It's  SATURDAY NIGHT 🌙

[Odd Duck]

Looks like quartz but can’t really tell from your picture.

[Sarina]

@Guppysnail you were right to tag me, it’s Red Pagoda Stone 😉

[nabokovfan87]

I think it's called samurai rock / samurai stone.  It looks a lot like maple leaf rock too, but not quite the same structure.

Samurai rock:

[Odd Duck]

Pagoda stone is primarily quartz with some iron oxides adhering.  Should be safe enough for a tank with a good cleaning.

The samurai stone could potentially harden the water a little as it has a bit of lime in it (but is still high in quartz) and the pic @nabokovfan87 posted looks like a good match for your stone.

This looks more like quartz, to me, and certainly pagoda stone seems to possibly fit as far as the variety.  If you could take it out of the water and dry it, then retake well lit pics, we could probably tell with more certainty.  What is your water hardness now and what kind of fish do you want to keep?  Just in case it’s samurai stone.

[nabokovfan87]

@Odd Duck I'm not sure if this is a candidate for acid wash to remove some of the minerals?  It would definitely impact the stone structurally, but I am pretty sure it'll be impossible to find a before/after on this one.

[Flipper]

Here's pics of the rock dry. 

@Guppysnail @nabokovfan87 @Sarina @Odd Duck

[Flipper]

My tap water is 150ppm KH, GH is 9, pH 7.6 to 7.8.  I haven't tested it lately.

I haven't decided what fish to keep yet, but my 20 gal has my Betta, dwarf Clown Pleco, Harlequin Rasboras and Rummy-Nose Tetras.  I'd like to keep the 2 tanks similar so I don't have to remember different rules for each. 

I originally bought Seiryu stone for my new Flex 15, but I'm exploring this mystery rock ya'll have been looking at for me.  I think either rock choice will look good.  I've changed the substrate since the pictures and now using CaribSea Super Naturals Torpedo beach course sand.

[Odd Duck]

On 8/5/2023 at 11:29 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

@Odd Duck I'm not sure if this is a candidate for acid wash to remove some of the minerals?  It would definitely impact the stone structurally, but I am pretty sure it'll be impossible to find a before/after on this one.

@Flipper This is one of the few times I would recommend a vinegar test on the rock to see if it bubbles or the vinegar erodes a spot since this rock could potentially be one that has some lime.  If it doesn’t bubble or erode a spot, then make sure you’ve done a good scrubbing and you should be fine.  Seiryu stone can also raise your pH.

How much either would actually raise your pH or hardness (if at all) is debatable since neither is likely to raise it much since you’re already at where they are likely to take your water parameters.  The only problem would be if you’re trying to get to softer water and / or more acid pH.  The rocks you have might do a great job at helping to keep your parameters very stable, but they’ll tend to keep them very stable even if you’re trying to drop them.

The species you’ve listed mostly tend to like slightly acid pH and softer water although the clown pleco isn’t very particular and neither are harlequin rasboras although they do like lower pH and softer water better than higher pH and harder water.  Bettas really aren’t that particular and certainly can survive your parameters but they do come from rather acid, soft water naturally.  Rummynose tetras are by far the pickiest of what you’ve listed but if you can be lucky enough to find a local breeder that has them acclimated to your parameters, they should do fine.  Otherwise, you may need to set them up in a quarantine tank closer to their ideal parameters then gradually acclimate them to your parameters.

I tend to steer people way from such white sand as it will show EVERY SPECK of poop or dirt.  It’s very pretty and looks like mostly quartz with a tiny bit of shell and traces of coral.  It doesn’t look like enough shell and coral in the mix to alter the pH or hardness and the bag says it’s a neutral pH.  If you’re not set on strictly white, then pool filter sand is very cheap (usually around $10.00 for 50 lbs) and usually a fairly light color mix of tans, browns, usually a dab or red and even black but overall impression is a light to medium tan (but check your local source!) and is neutral pH.  Don’t get the much finer textured play sand - it compacts too much and can create anaerobic pockets with potential for deadly H2S (hydrogen sulfide) gas build up.  Sand that is too fine is also a real bugger to vacuum the surface without vacuuming out all the sand.  Your Torpedo Beach sand looks like a nice grain size and should be decent to clean with fairly low risk of compaction, but you might not like seeing the fish poop on the surface between cleanings.

[Flipper]

You've all been very helpful and I learned much from this post.  I'm taking my time setting up the new tank and I can't wait to show it off some day soon.