Jump to content

Experience with Seiryu Stones


Shogun3041
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

So I'd had a tank on my desk for roughly 21 months, and it contained Seiryu Stones as part of the hardscape.

Now some may already know that Seiryu is known for its water altering property, and I figured to share a little bit of my experience so far.

Moreover, I'm also interested in hearing everyone else's experience of playing with Seiryu!

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to read through all this.

 

Here is my tank specs along with water parameter RIGHT OUT OF tap. Tested with API Master Kit + Tetra Strips

Standard US 5 gallon

7.4 pH

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: all 0

~300 ppm GH

100-150 ppm KH

Inert gravel substrate with Lava Rock main hardscape, with a small handful of nano Seiryu Stone for accent.

Planted with Myrio Green, Water Sprite, and Japan Clover

 

So yeah, my water is literally liquid rock, but pH is not bad at all I think. This tank had been a solo betta tank.

I did quite minimal water changes; if water test showed 0 for ammonia and nitrite, I just top it off unless nitrate went crazy.

When my betta hit 2-year, it suddenly passed over weekend with no signs of sickness, so I did a water test to try find a root cause.

A little confession, I had been neglecting pH test for a long time (shame on me). When I did test, I only used regular pH bottle (APT Master Kit), not the High pH one, this will be important.

All parameters were normal, except for pH, which I read as 7.8 (deep blue per regular pH test). 7.8 wasn't too bad I thought, and boy was I wrong. Pull out the High pH bottle and the pH was a whooping 8.6!

While I do believe in stable > perfect parameters, I'm pretty sure my betta did not come from Lake Tanganyika. Full test results from tank:

8.6 pH

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: 0, 0, 20

~300 ppm GH (could be more, strip can't test any higher)

100-150 ppm KH

 

Since I have inert substrate, have pH 7.4 tap, and don't add anything in my water besides Easy Green, I narrowed my suspicion to my hardscape rocks leaching. Since Lava Rock is inert, it had to be the Seiryu Stones.

Soaked one stone in distilled vinegar, yup it fizzed right away alright.

Since Seiryu is a type of limestone, which is composed of mostly calcium carbonate, quick Google search revealed that calcium carbonate dissolving in water can reach pH equilibrium about mid-8, sometimes even around 9 or more.

 

So that's my experience working with Seiryu Stone. Not saying it's "bad," just that I don't believe it was serving well for my case.

I plan on getting some Ohko Stones instead (nice looking and also inert) and completely redo the tank. Maybe can trade-in the Seiryu in my LFS, who knows.

How is everyone else's experience with Seiryu Stone?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had Seiryu Stones in my 55g since April. I have 3 large ones and around 3 dozen small ones. My water tests at 8.2 pH out of the faucet and my tank tested 8.2 pH just last week. I did hear of Seiryu stone affecting pH a few months back but after careful monitoring, it doesn't seem to be affecting my water.

After some research, I found that 14.3 Rocks website and somewhere in that massive page, it explained how active rocks in placed in water with a high pH range will not change the pH at all so I relaxed a little. This also prompted me to start using stones I've found out in the yard as well as the nearby woods, a huge money saver! I've gotten the same results from these various stones, no change in pH.

I'm not a scientist but this has led me to believe that rocks considered safe for fish/invertebrates placed in water with a high pH might as well be considered inert for my use.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never had issues with Seiyru stone altering my water. My pH can range anywhere from 7.6 to 8 with a GH of 350-500 (depending on the time of year) but had always been consistent with my tap readings. I had always just assumed the same as @Alec2cool, my pH, GH and KH were high enough already for it to not really matter. Curious, did you test directly from tap, or let it sit for 48 hours. There can be a significant change to pH after sitting for a couple of days.  

My lack of change in parameters could also be a result of being in larger volumes of water. Most of my Seiyru stone is in a 75 and 40 gallon tank. I think I would have to put some in a 5 gallon tank to see if my parameters change.  Would be interesting to try. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Alec2cool said:

I've had Seiryu Stones in my 55g since April. I have 3 large ones and around 3 dozen small ones. My water tests at 8.2 pH out of the faucet and my tank tested 8.2 pH just last week. I did hear of Seiryu stone affecting pH a few months back but after careful monitoring, it doesn't seem to be affecting my water.

After some research, I found that 14.3 Rocks website and somewhere in that massive page, it explained how active rocks in placed in water with a high pH range will not change the pH at all so I relaxed a little. This also prompted me to start using stones I've found out in the yard as well as the nearby woods, a huge money saver! I've gotten the same results from these various stones, no change in pH.

I'm not a scientist but this has led me to believe that rocks considered safe for fish/invertebrates placed in water with a high pH might as well be considered inert for my use.

 

It does make sense, as more acidic water causes the rock to dissolve faster >>> greater fluctuation.

Not worrying about hardscape rock sure is nice though! ($$$ add up fast)

If I had 8.2 pH I wouldn't mind too much, just 8.6 makes me real uneasy.

Hardness doesn't bother me, it's just the pH ☹️

 

17 hours ago, Lynze said:

I have never had issues with Seiyru stone altering my water. My pH can range anywhere from 7.6 to 8 with a GH of 350-500 (depending on the time of year) but had always been consistent with my tap readings. I had always just assumed the same as @Alec2cool, my pH, GH and KH were high enough already for it to not really matter. Curious, did you test directly from tap, or let it sit for 48 hours. There can be a significant change to pH after sitting for a couple of days.  

My lack of change in parameters could also be a result of being in larger volumes of water. Most of my Seiyru stone is in a 75 and 40 gallon tank. I think I would have to put some in a 5 gallon tank to see if my parameters change.  Would be interesting to try. 

I tested straight from tap. I can scoop some water and let it sit over weekend tomorrow, see how it turns out.

It makes sense for bigger tanks to have minimal impact. Nano is probably where problems are imo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...