Rusty slate?

[tankmates]

I built slate caves out of 2" strips of slate. I cleaned and boiled the slate prior to building the caves. I have noticed that in one of the tanks with two caves, there is an orange color collecting next to the cave. The water has become a little cloudy.

I removed the caves and they had a slight metallic odor. The fish seem fine. Any comments? Time for new caves?

 

[tankmates]

bump

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

There may be iron in the slate. It's probably oxidizing. So, yes, I would guess it's rust based on your description. Pics would be helpful in diagnosing this issue though.

 

[tankmates]

Would the iron be harmful to the fish?

 

[COL]

"There may be iron in the slate. It's probably oxidizing. So, yes, I would guess it's rust based on your description. Pics would be helpful in diagnosing this issue though."

Basically, this. I would see to it that you switch caves, if at all possible.

 

[tankmates]

Thanks, I wish I had not built so many caves. Is there any way to salvage the caves? What kind of slate is ideal for use in making caves?

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

I would try to get some slate from a LFS, even though it's probably more expensive. It looks like the slate you have is some type of construction tile or something. Basically it's not really slate. It's slate that's been ground up and mixed with who knows what and formed into tiles.

 

[Muske]

I have never used it, but a local granite top guy has a show room w/many samples. I asked if he had any other bigger pieces to use as a sample in my kitchen. He took me outside and there was a scrap pile with all diff. colors and shapes, many, now thinking about it, would have made good caves.

 

[tankmates]

I've thought about granite also. I used slate because the inside surface was a bit rougher.

 

[Muske]

The granite had awesome colors, just the pieces were a little to thick. The thinnest piece around 1". I too prefer slate because of the dark colors and availabilty. I've never seen it rust though....