Limestone Predicament

[Luke & Penny]

Whilst ringing around a few local garden places today enquiring about their limestone rock for my tank, one friendly local businessman asked what i wanted it for, when i told him, he went quiet and starting to umm and ahh.
He then asked me if it was safe, as he said in all his years he's known lime from the stone to be poisonous, he then went on to tell me that they install garden water features including ponds in peoples gardens, he said that when people ask for limestone to go either in, on the edge or around the water they wont do it as it is poisonous to the fish in the water.
he seemes real friendly and was generally concerned that i dont kill my fish.

Is this right?

P.S. Had to stick it here as it wont let me post under troipcal general chit chat.
Mods feel free to move if you see fit, although i thought this was a good place being the cichlid section.

 

[freddyk]

Limestone is not poison. It is soft quite soft and will leech calcium carbonate into the water. In a sense, this situation may as well be poison for many fish, but when it comes to African rift lake cichlids it actually benefits, allowing for stable, higher ph water. I'm glad this guy is concerned because normally he'd probably right, if a little melodramatic.

 

[Luke & Penny]

thanks for clearing that up freddy

 

[big mick]

I actually bought 2 nice big bits from my local homebase for my blue lobster tank but decided agains it when I came to set it up and used lava rock instead coz I was worried it would start breaking down in the warm water........if I was being over cautiouse Id love to know coz they would look great!

(they are the yellowy colour ones right?)

 

[freddyk]

Well, if it makes you feel better a friend of mine who's more into this then I am has hundreds of lbs of limestone in a stunning six foot mbuna tank.

 

[Luke & Penny]

Cheers, Ive gotta be honest Im not sure My progress with getting malawis would have been this good and quick if it hadnt been for some of the people on here.

Thanks

Luke

<<<<<<< Now off to get the milliput and rocks out

 

[mamafish68]

The break down people talk about in Limestone takes ages! It's not going to melt before your eyes, it wont even melt before your old and grey!
It's so slow and gradual, keeps the ph nice and even