Where to get rock?

[braindeadkev]

Just received my new aquarium and need to start looking at decorating it. Any tips on where to get sensibly priced rocks for my first aquascaped tank? It’s a 145l tank so would like some decent sized pieces. Never bought rock for an aquarium before.

 

[Connswater]

Just received my new aquarium and need to start looking at decorating it. Any tips on where to get sensibly priced rocks for my first aquascaped tank? It’s a 145l tank so would like some decent sized pieces. Never bought rock for an aquarium before.

A lot of folk don't realise it is illegal to collect rock from the coastline in GB, though ironically as part of flood protection sometimes huge quantities of dredged ballast is pumped onto shorelines.

My suggestions are two-fold, garden centres and any former quarry workings in woods etc., local to your area, though you may well be in breach of the country code if you remove stones from a former quarry, though I suspect it depends upon the amount and the nature of the site. When I say quarry I mean a long abandoned and not blasted working, big quarry workings can be very dangerous places. Modest removal of stones from a large 19th century abandoned pile is hardly likely to be problematic. Removing material from rivers is generally frowned upon but may not be actually illegal unless you damage the environment/change the water course - others may know better than I do.
Overall, the garden centre is probably the least problematic place, but an old medieval mine working in a deciduous forest can be full of leaves, twigs and the odd rock which may prove irresistible.

 

[bazz]

Not sure where in Nth Yorks you are but I wouldn't have thought @Horizon Aquatics was too far away.

 

[Spartacus]

If you can drive to Horizon Aquatics I would do so if at all possible. We drove down from Scotland and it was well worth it.

Buying rocks online is expensive and a total random selection as you never know what you will get.

At least if buying in person you can hand pick and use the dojo (sand pit for use during trying layout) to air visitation 😊

Horizon had a great range and great prices.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Rockery stone won't break the bank ,you can buy individual pieces for around £5. Granite and Slate to be sure it's safe, retail outlets with garden sections as well as garden centres stock it

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

The last time I used “rock” in an Aquarium it was some porous stuff from the LFS. Not sure what it’s called but available in light brown, dark brown and an orangey shade. Much lighter than solid rock and can be stacked together quite firmly to build up height if required.
Someone on here probably knows what it’s called. Good luck with your search.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Sounds like some kind of lava rock?

 

[braindeadkev]

Not sure where in Nth Yorks you are but I wouldn't have thought @Horizon Aquatics was too far away.

Thanks will have to take a look a their. 50min away.

The last time I used “rock” in an Aquarium it was some porous stuff from the LFS. Not sure what it’s called but available in light brown, dark brown and an orangey shade. Much lighter than solid rock and can be stacked together quite firmly to build up height if required.
Someone on here probably knows what it’s called. Good luck with your search.

Is that Lava Rock?

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

Ah yes, Lava rock.

Edit: You can do some neat things with it.

 

[braindeadkev]

So Lava rock is a lot lighter than other rocks like granite?

 

[Cazza]

Another vote for garden centre rockery rocks. Waaaaaaaay cheaper per KG than you get in an aquatics store.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

So Lava rock is a lot lighter than other rocks like granite?

Yes, it is full of <"vesicles"> (little holes). It is a bit like the difference between an Aero and a plain chocolate bar. <"Pumice"> would take it a step further, less dense again, because it is more hole than rock.

Even amongst "hard" rocks (those that form <"rounded cobbles">) there are some differences, Flint or <"Granite would be less dense than Basalt"> for example.

cheers Darrel

 

[Connswater]

granite

It can look amazing - though to be honest I have no rocks in either of my two tanks. As a kid, I used a lot of sandstone, collected slightly dangerously from a not long abandoned quarry. It can be very attractive and with ledges which I recall my little group of pygmy corydoras used to rest upon, much to my mum's delight. Later basalt and granite, granite is readily available in Northern Ireland from the Mourne mountains. Buying expensive rocks from a tropical fish shop is a great way to support your local retailer but they often stock rocks labelled in such a way that I raise an eyebrow, and I'm no geologist. I have sometimes googled the fancy names to find the name of the rock. Generally volcanic - igneous - rock is best unless you want a very hard water tank.

Sociologically speaking, rock use, may be related to social class and of course geographical location. As a kid we often had huge chunks of household coal in our tanks, that's what we had easy access to, in our urban terraced housing and yes, even in the long distant 1960s we really looked down on the kids with sunken submarines and bubbling Pirate chests. Really big bits of coal, much sought after by us fishkeeping kids, could be had from helpful relatives who worked at the coal quay, coal had to be imported from the mainland to Northern Ireland. Coal being jet black, contrasts really well with the green leaves of plants, little did I know that as kids keeping planted tanks in Belfast city with our aesthetically pleasing coal pieces (but living with air then almost unbreathable in the winter smog, smelling strongly of sulphur, from all the tens of thousands of open fires burning coal) we were virtually landscape gardeners.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

So Lava rock is a lot lighter than other rocks like granite?

Yes, much lighter. You can fairly easily chip out pockets in it to put plants.

 

[braindeadkev]

Ended up with 3 good sized bits of slate from a garden center. Need to sort out some plants next