Is LimeStone really that bad???.

[deckard_wa]

Limestone is a poor choice for Amazon creatures.

Well, as I said, there is an entire state in Australia doing it wrong then. The limestone that we have here is widely used in Oscar tanks, and I have used it myself for many years with no ill effects.

Not sure how much time you have spent in Western Australia, and how you kept fish when you were here, but the limestone that the OP is speaking of is the same limestone I have always used, and is fine to use in O tanks

 

[Ianab]

If you live in a limestone area chances are your tap water has already been exposed to the limestone, and will have increased hardness and pH already. Your fish have adjusted to that, can live in it quite happily, and having a lump of limestone in your tank has little effect. As you say it acts as a buffer and the tank stays stable.

But if I were to drop a piece into my soft slightly acidic (close to rainwater) tank it would start messing with the water parameters. Then I do a big water change and things swing the other way. I end up with ph and hardness swinging all over the place and stressing out my fish.

I guess a more exact answer would have to take into account what Militis' water parameters are like now. If his Oscar is living in harder water already the limestone may have little effect. But if his tank is set up with the O's prefered conditions, it will.

Cheers

Ian

 

[dexman1349]

I guess a more exact answer would have to take into account what Militis' water parameters are like now. If his Oscar is living in harder water already the limestone may have little effect. But if his tank is set up with the O's prefered conditions, it will.

Cheers

Ian

I agree. The water here on the east side of Denver is a constant hard 7.4-7.6 ph. Limestone will *probably* have little effect here, except as a buffer.

Test the water first, you oscar may be used to that type of water anyways.

 

[tunerX]

Well, as I said, there is an entire state in Australia doing it wrong then. The limestone that we have here is widely used in Oscar tanks, and I have used it myself for many years with no ill effects.

Not sure how much time you have spent in Western Australia, and how you kept fish when you were here, but the limestone that the OP is speaking of is the same limestone I have always used, and is fine to use in O tanks

Nobody ever said that it will kill an O. O's prefer soft, acidic water like where they evolved over thousands of years. Of course you can get the O to adapt to pretty much whatever water you have but it is not the best... it is just OK.

 

[deckard_wa]

You guys have over simplified things and have not answered the OP's question. He wanted to know if it was OK in his tank. He did not ask if it would be ok in a tank in New Zealand, Canada, The US or anywhere else.

We have quite strange water in this part of the world, and the chemicals used to treat it can be different (for example chlorine is only used occasionally and chloramine never) from other parts of the world. It can also make a difference how far from the de-salination plant you are etc. etc. What I have found over the years in my tanks is that the biggest risk to stable water conditions is that sometimes kh and ph can crash alarmingly. Limestone stops this happening, and in fact there is a school of thought here that limestone is quite important in ensuring a stable tank.

As I said above, I was responding to the OPs question. It may not be true anywhere else in the world, but it is a fact here, and if it's so bad for SA cichlids then why do I have fry in 5 of my 8 tanks?

 

[Militis]

I am not going to worry about it i was looking in my backyard and i was looking around to see if we had rocks and behind some of these bushes and covered in dirt i find these really good rocks.

 

[ziggy2]

Just because you use doesn't make it right. It is not the optimum set up.

 

[Ianab]

Deckard, in your situation you ARE probably better off leaving your water conditions where they are. Your fish have obviously acclimatised to it, and because your water quality is otherwise good and you must be doing everything right maintaining your tanks. So your fish are doing well, inspite of one parameter not being ideal.

I agree with you that the stable pH and hardness that you maintain is better than trying unsuccessfully to change it and having it crash and rollercoaster all over the scale. Trying to maintain a tank at Amazon conditions with your tap water would be difficult, and unless you got it EXACTLY right, your fish would be far worse off than what they have now.

But in my tank I have VERY soft water and a big piece of lime would play havoc with the pH. I just do large water changes to keep my tanks near tap water parameters and so keep the water conditions stable that way. The 'books' say guppys prefer pH 7-8, medium hardness and a bit of salt. Yet I'm overrun with them in my 'wrong' water But thats because they have acclimitised to it and everything else is good.

So yes it does depend on where in the world you are.

But there are 2 scenarios. The OP has hard alkaline water - in which case the limetone has no effect. OR the OP has soft acid water, and it will affect his parameters, and not in a good way.

Safest to get an inert rock that has no effect on either tank

Cheers

Ian