# Is basalt too ugly to use to scape a show tank?



## Mike A. (Jan 6, 2018)

I've seen it used in aquariums. Obviously depends on the specific rocks but in general looks fine to me. Use whatever you like. Not everything has to look the same. If you have tons to choose from you'll probably be able to come up with some more interesting rocks than just ordering random stuff online somewhere or picking through the few in most stores.


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## max.r.lawrence (Jan 31, 2017)

Hey I’m over on the east end of the Colombia river basalt flows in Idaho and I’ve got a tank full of basalt and I really like the way it looks. I’d do it for sure. I think there is something special about using local hard scape material too. Also I bet you’ve got sage brush out there, around here a bunch of us use dead sage brush branches for our drift wood. Looks great in tanks, who needs manzanita?? Here is a picture of my sage brush basalt tank (though both a pretty grown over at this point)

Also people use scoria to build up backgrounds in their tanks fairly often and cover it with rocks or substrate. Something to think about.


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## Oughtsix (Apr 8, 2011)

max.r.lawrence said:


> Hey I’m over on the east end of the Colombia river basalt flows in Idaho and I’ve got a tank full of basalt and I really like the way it looks. I’d do it for sure. I think there is something special about using local hard scape material too. Also I bet you’ve got sage brush out there, around here a bunch of us use dead sage brush branches for our drift wood. Looks great in tanks, who needs manzanita?? Here is a picture of my sage brush basalt tank (though both a pretty grown over at this point)
> 
> Also people use scoria to build up backgrounds in their tanks fairly often and cover it with rocks or substrate. Something to think about.


Excellent! Thank you for the picture, you have a very nice tank!

Yep, I have plenty of sage... as well as Juniper. I had ruled out the Juniper and being not good for the water and prone to rotting... but I hadn't considered sage. I will have to do some looking around in the back yard as our property is covered in sage.

Did you do anything special to the basalt before putting it in your tank? I was thinking of just blasting it with a pressure washer and putting it in the new tank.


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

ADA's koke stone has always looked very basalt like to me. If it's good enough for ADA....

Link removed by moderators


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## max.r.lawrence (Jan 31, 2017)

I'd say that the pressure wash treatment would be good enough for me to put the stones in my tanks. Keep us updated as to how your scape works out!


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## kushy04 (Mar 27, 2018)

From the picture above, basalt substrate looks to be dark grey or black. I always thought a dark or black substrate really looks nice and brings the color out of fish, plants, and whatever else you may have in there. I also have a nano tank with white substrate and it really washes the color out of things, I'm considering rescaping it, but haven't done anything to prepare for that.


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## DaTrueDave (Oct 16, 2011)

I'm not sure what you mean by basalt being porous. I've always thought of basalt as being very dense with nice sharp angles (they remind me of the ridges on the peaks of the Alps). 

I particularly like the very dark basalt with the very white veins running through:









Bump: I just read wikipedia and it seems there are many types of basalt. I like the looks of the type in the image above, but other types might look great, too. 

I think the only thing that really matters is if it looks good to you!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi @Oughtsix,

Basalt is very, very dense and is inert. What I like about it is that it comes in many shapes and colors....like columnar basalt from eastern Washington state.


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## reddhawkk (Dec 28, 2011)

Lots of basalt out here on the east coast and yes, it looks good in tanks!


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## FatDaddeo (Jan 6, 2022)

max.r.lawrence said:


> Hey I’m over on the east end of the Colombia river basalt flows in Idaho and I’ve got a tank full of basalt and I really like the way it looks. I’d do it for sure. I think there is something special about using local hard scape material too. Also I bet you’ve got sage brush out there, around here a bunch of us use dead sage brush branches for our drift wood. Looks great in tanks, who needs manzanita?? Here is a picture of my sage brush basalt tank (though both a pretty grown over at this point)
> 
> Also people use scoria to build up backgrounds in their tanks fairly often and cover it with rocks or substrate. Something to think about.


Greetings from Eastern Washington!
Apologies that I’m asking about a post that is so old: I see that you use sage wood in your tank and I love that! My 40 gallon makes use of local basalt I collected myself. I would love to add sage wood. Does the wood need to be aged/dried for a certain amount of time prior to adding? Is there any other prep I should do?
Thank you!! - Lee


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Your best bet is to start a new thread, @FatDaddeo. Some of the members on this particular thread haven't been on the forum in months or years.

Since you're new, you may also want to use the search function to see if other members have already done what you want to do.


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## FatDaddeo (Jan 6, 2022)

somewhatshocked said:


> Your best bet is to start a new thread, @FatDaddeo. Some of the members on this particular thread haven't been on the forum in months or years.
> 
> Since you're new, you may also want to use the search function to see if other members have already done what you want to do.


Thank you! Will do.


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