# Rock Info Needed . Picture attached



## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

elephant stones? Beautiful native rock btw!


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## geo74 (Feb 22, 2017)

Didnt know that name... 
I did a quick search of elephant stones and are very similar judging by the looks. Did ADA sells such stones by the name "elephant" ?
I collected 2 full buckets of such stones of various shapes and colors.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

I think so, but not sure.


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## IamTracyLee (Mar 20, 2017)

GREAT ROCKS!! How lucky you are to live close enough to gather them on your own. I would buy some from you if you're willing to do the leg-work.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

The funny thing about most of the common names we give things is that it may vary from place to place. I had not run across elephant stones, either. 
But then that is what can cause some confusion as well as make it easy to remember the name. Kind of like saying electric blue for a fish name. We may find six different fish with that name. 
Safe for your tank? That will depend on a number of things. In general we like rocks that don't change the parameters like PH/GH/KH in our water. Unless, of course, those changes are making our water closer to what we might like. 
How much change will depend both on what the rock is made of as well as what our water has already. Like adding black ink to black paint, we will not see much change to our water if we add an alkaline rock to water which is already hard and alkaline. So that leaves the acid test being somewhat less help at times. It may prove the rock to be alkaline but it doesn't tell us what it will do in our water. 
Those rocks are pretty sure to be made up of sediment of some type. Looking from a distance. I might guess it is made of dust, mud, or sand. Those are often pretty inert but it also could be more a type of limestone which would be alkaline. 
When in doubt, I often just try the rocks in the tank and watch. The change is not a fast, dramatic thing that kills fish but just more often a really slow drift. So I am willing to pull any rocks that do cause problems. Others may put the rocks in their water in a tub and monitor them for a few months. 
Nice rocks that I want to use, I just ignore the small amount of trouble they may give.


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## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

geo74 said:


> Didnt know that name...
> I did a quick search of elephant stones and are very similar judging by the looks. Did ADA sells such stones by the name "elephant" ?
> I collected 2 full buckets of such stones of various shapes and colors.


elephant *skin* stone will do better on the searches. Searching "Elephant Stone" brings up a lot of results for the band, "Elephant Stone" And searching "elephant stone rocks" just makes your computer think you're a big fan of the band, haha

Beautiful rocks! What area of the world did you find them?


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## geo74 (Feb 22, 2017)

Bump:


KayakJimW said:


> elephant *skin* stone will do better on the searches. Searching "Elephant Stone" brings up a lot of results for the band, "Elephant Stone" And searching "elephant stone rocks" just makes your computer think you're a big fan of the band, haha
> 
> Beautiful rocks! What area of the world did you find them?


In Greece . Chios island . That was not an easy task. Most part of the island have indifferent limestones but looked some geological maps to find that this island has some of the ancientest geological history of Europe . I visit the the right places and bingo! 
The acid test at 90% of the cases did not react . 
But would these stones be inert in my aquarium ?
Do you advise to sink them in water for 1-2 weeks and check the parameters ?



IamTracyLee said:


> GREAT ROCKS!! How lucky you are to live close enough to gather them on your own. I would buy some from you if you're willing to do the leg-work.



I do not thing that would be viable regarding the very high shipping costs from Greece


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## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

geo74 said:


> Bump:
> 
> In Greece . Chios island . That was not an easy task. Most part of the island have indifferent limestones but looked some geological maps to find that this island has some of the ancientest geological history of Europe . I visit the the right places and bingo!
> The acid test at 90% of the cases did not react .
> ...


Very cool. Those rocks tell quite a story. They should be inert (enough) for using in an aquarium. They are sold to the planted tank market here, just like seiryu stones which aren't 100% inert but the changes they make to your water is minimal. Unless you are going for a very low ph (under 6.5) and <1 degrees hardness, I would think these would be fine. I haven't used them personally, but maybe some who have can post what their results were. Soaking and testing the water is a good idea too

site that sells them here: https://buceplant.com/collections/h...ducts/elephant-skin-stone?variant=26043605249


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I would come down to using them. I mentioned testing but that is also very slow and it also has some faults. We know that water standing in a tub may do different things than water in our tanks where there are other things working. So for my impatient side, I just go and then adjust if needed. 
In many cases, we do so much water changing that the very slow process of rocks eroding in the tank is just not that much. 
Thinking of these rocks being in the weather for a few million years, how much does it degrade in the 5, 10, or 15 years we will use it in our tanks? Anybody want to stand and hold a hose on a rock for long enough to see it begin to erode? 
If you can't get it to fizz in acid, I'm saying it's good!


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## geo74 (Feb 22, 2017)

Found that the german term Seegebirge is used to describe stones similar with (or the same with ) the elephant skin stones .
Do a google search and you will find many aquarium shops with those


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## IamTracyLee (Mar 20, 2017)

OH MY! I would say not......lucky for me you're honest, the shipping would have been killer! hahahaa


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Very nice stones you found there


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Rocks can be looked at in so many ways but they can be really interesting if we get down and do some study on how a particular rock might have formed. right now in my life, I might place rocks as about the second hobby interest in my life. 
Just look at these rocks and imagine the history they might tell? 
One way these are interesting is the way the cracks have formed. If we think of a layer of sediment like dust collecting and then being put under enough pressure for long enough for that to become rock is a trip in itself but then the lines are a whole second chapter, perhaps. If we think of the layer of rock being pushed upward by the earth shifting, it may explain the cracking. As the layer came upward, it can sometimes meet a layer of water that suddenly cooled it and made the crazy pattern! Then to get the rounded edges, it laid out and erosion widened and changed those cracks? 
That can sound like a really crazy trip but then nature is full of those really crazy, really interesting trips if we let our minds wander a bit more than just looking at rocks. 
Do not take this explanation as fact. Just theory from a wandering mind! Great rocks deserve a better explanation because they certainly have an interesting story.


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## Miilehlo (Mar 18, 2017)

Wow, beautiful rocks! Keep us updated on how they do in your tank.

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