limestone as hardscape and kh

[st.john]

I have access to some really lovely limestone from the Monnow where i fish and would like to use it as hardscape - but already having hard water is this likely to throw the kh/ph through the roof? It's a 350ltr tank.
I have read some conflicting reports on the use of limestone and was wondering if any of you lovely lot have first hand experience using it. The limestone is (i believe and based on rusty geological lectures..) carboniferous and very small grained. It would look fantastic in the natural aquascape that i am creating.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

The limestone is (i believe and based on rusty geological lectures..) carboniferous and very small grained.

It will have relatively little effect on water hardness, basically because it is very old (~350 million years) and highly compressed. Old rocks have to be pretty hard and impermeable to have survived that long. There aren't any young rocks in Herefordshire, all the solid geology is <"Permian age or older">.

It is likely to be Carboniferous age ("Pembroke Limestone Group"), and it might be "Gully Oolite". Even if it is a boulder from glacial out-wash it will be old rock, as the glacier came from the North and West, where all the rock is old.

I grew up near Kington (NW Herefordshire), and I've always been interested in geology.

Cheers Darrel

 

[st.john]

brilliant mate, thanks. i'm avoiding bots with calcite veins in so i think all will be good!

 

[Brian Murphy]

I believe now that ADA seiryu stone can not be taken from original source alot of it is actually Ying stones from SE China and all are a limestone rock. Anyone able to shed any more light on this?