# Suitable rocks



## Andy Taylor (7 Sep 2021)

Hi All,
Been reading up on different rocks suitable for aquariums. One website I was reading seems to cotradict what this forum and many others  says?
14.3. Rocks

What do you guys think?


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## Tim Harrison (7 Sep 2021)

Aside from anything else I died of boredom halfway through the first paragraph, it comes across to me as a bit bombastic and narcissistic.  From what little I read it seems to deal in absolutes to a great extent, and is perhaps guilty of perpetuating almost as many myths as it claims to bust.

I can see what the article, and the website, is trying to get at, and there are some good points,  but the statements aren't very well rounded and seem to fall short of convincing conclusions.

Do I care enough to elaborate with examples? Not really...


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## Wolf6 (7 Sep 2021)

My first thought is that its not poisonous rocks we are worried about. I feel we avoid these rocks because we want to eliminate unknown variables that interfere with CO2 or ferts. 
As for fish damaging themselves, this can occur when the fish is panicked for some reason, and you dont even need extremely sharp rocks for this to happen. I dont avoid sharp rocks for this reason as its rare, but I disagree with his notion that they are too dull. But the tone of the writer makes me hate reading it so much I cant get through all of it.


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## dw1305 (7 Sep 2021)

H all,


Andy Taylor said:


> What do you guys think?


Yes, he is right about the rocks and what he says is applicable if you have hard water, adding carbonate rocks <"can't make the water any harder">.

Same applies to any metal ores that the rock might contain, in hard water (and in the extremely unlikely event they are present) they will never solubilise as ions. He is <"right about quartz">, and that any <"water rounded cobble"> will never effect water chemistry etc.


Tim Harrison said:


> .Aside from anything else I died of boredom halfway through the first paragraph


Possibly not the greatest of literary stylists, but I would regard <"The Science of Aquariums"> as generally a pretty reputable source.

There are things I don't agree with (<"he isn't my type of fish-keeper">) and the sections on the <"planted tank"> are <"interesting">.

cheers Darrel


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## Driftless (7 Sep 2021)

Today is the first time that I visited the "The Science of Aquariums" website.   He has a lot of strong opinions.  He mentions that you can't have heavily planted aquariums with medium or large fish.  Now if you will excuse me I have to take down my heavily planted discus and angelfish aquariums now that I know that they can't work .........


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## dw1305 (7 Sep 2021)

Hi all, 


Driftless said:


> He mentions that you can't have heavily planted aquariums with medium or large fish.


There isn't any physical room for plants, some of his stocking densities are more like "_Sardines in a can_", rather than an aquarium. 

cheers Darrel


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## MichaelJ (7 Sep 2021)

Its a shame The science of Aquariums uses the word _Science _in its title. In all fairness, I would say If you're running an African Rift Valley Cichlid tank or similar fish-only tanks you may find _some_ good bits of info here and there, but if you're running a serious planted tank The science of Aquariums website is *not* a good source for advice - following their advice - as is - will likely be disastrous in many, if not most, cases.

Cheers,
Michael


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## Tim Harrison (8 Sep 2021)

Yeah, the write up on planted tanks is a big problem for me. It’s utter nonsense. But it’s the absolute authority with which it’s written that disturbs me most. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the accuracy of the rest of the website’s info..

Overall it comes across as puerile and obnoxious. Whilst there maybe some good points many are unqualified and lost in the arrogance of the absolute. We are expected to accept them unquestioningly because the author is supposedly a credentialed chemist.

It’s just a big turn off.  And I’d quite happily consign the entire website to room 101.


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## MichaelJ (8 Sep 2021)

Tim Harrison said:


> Yeah, the write up on planted tanks is a big problem for me. It’s  the absolute authority with which it’s written  that  disturbs me most. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the accuracy of the rest of the website’s info.
> Overall it comes across as puerile and obnoxious.


Well said @Tim Harrison  I didn't quite have the audacity to put it that way


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