stalactite and petrified wood in aquarium

[Camaronator]

Back in the day i used to go caving and over the years i acquired some cool looking pieces of cave (all already broken off of course) and some petrified wood.

Being that they are pretty neat looking, I'm curious if i could use them for display in my aquarium.

Is there a prep process i should do before putting them in?

Im kinda asuming that it will up my ph, i think theyre made mostly of calcium, i really dont know anything about their composition though, so i could be wrong.

Any help?
Mark

 

[Camaronator]

quick wiki search shows that its calcium carbonate or bicarbonate... so base rock?

 

[ecoli73]

I collect petrified woods...I put some of them in my tank and it didn't have any adverse effect on the fish.

 

[anarekist]

it would affect ph.

 

[Camaronator]

i might give it a shot in a empty tank to see what it does, i need to soak some driftwood anyway

 

[fmland]

Adding the driftwood would lower the pH while adding the stalactites would raise. How much either of them would contribute in either directing is depending on the specific pieces. A trail run in a empty tank checking the pH several times should give you a decent idea.