# where can i get the rocks in amano's tank?



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hey there, do you guys know where i can get those rock that's in the below picture by amano? Is there a name for that type of rock? i tried searching online but noone seem to sell those type of rock as decor. And cant find it locally either especially if living in nyc. Any idea what name or where i can get those rock? they look so much better than others/driftwoods


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

*Black Rocks*

They look like granite. You can find rocks that look exactly like that from about Atlanta, Georgia all the way into the North carolina mountains. You can pick them up for free where they're doing roadwork. Right off hand I dont know anyone whos selling it. Hope that helps some...Jim


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## Blazerfrs (Feb 3, 2006)

Hard to call it granite specifically, IMHO. Most granite I see is much rougher, and more mottled.

To me, it looks like a feldspar with igneous quatz intrusions. Hard to say w/o better, above water pictures lol. Cool rock in any case.

Take a walk and see what's around. I'm sure you'll be hard pressed to find anything exactly like that rock, but you'll probably find something equally cool.


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

It's called dragon stone. You can see pictures at this website,
http://www.aquadeco.com/english.html
They only sell to distributers, but this place sells the rocks,
http://www.aquapassion.com/nouveaute.php

Check out aquaforest, they would have much better prices. You'd have to see if they would special order the dragon stone for you. They do carry Seiyu stone, which is similar and very nice.
http://www.e-aquaria.com/aquaforest.html
Either way, you are going to be spending $100 to get those rocks.


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

Don't mean to hijack the tread but....

Is the foreground plant HC? Just making sure....


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

jeff63851 said:


> Don't mean to hijack the tread but....
> 
> Is the foreground plant HC? Just making sure....


Yep sure is.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Jeff, 
Yes


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

ahhh...thanks for the verification


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

*NC Rocks*

I went outside to the ditch behind the house and gathered these rocks. They're from the north Georgia mountains and used as Rip-Rap here. They're black granite found all over the Ga, SC, Nc mountains. They're not the best representatives but you can get the idea that the rocks can be found if you look at blasting sites from road building. I didnt like the ones with white stripes so left them when I tried to build the little formation you see in the background. If it was daylite I'd go find some better ones like the first post. I wet one to show what it looks like underwater but it didnt turn out.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

wow thanks guys, i am trying to setup a tank that's like the one pictured but with Marsilea minuta as the ground cover. And put a few anubias nana around the rock. 

Only thing is i have a pure black background(cant be removed, built in). Do you guys think it will still look as nice as amano's tank with the clear background? Would it be better to add a wall of vallis as background plant. 

thanks on dragon rock info, any other store that sells them online?


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

Hmmm...I think I have seen the same rock in mountain trails in Socal, but just a bit green compared to jimjim's rocks.

-Jeff


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

well ended up buying some petrified wood instead, they look pretty nice too.

Anyone know if i can put plants on them like people do to driftwoods? if so what kind of plants are best? anything besides java fern? and how do i hold the plant onto the rock initially (super glue? j/k) thanks


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

I think they look like limestone w. quartz, but I'd have to see it to tell. Jimjim, there is no such thing as black granite, that's something made up by the people selling countertops. But I can’t tell what you have from your pictures.

Jeff, I believe you have seen serpentinite, our state rock.

I went out and collected local rocks myself. A little knowledge in geology and an idea of where to go is all you need. I got some Bedford canyon formation for my tank (slate), which is the oldest rock found in Orange County. Looks GREAT with white manzanita too. If you are currently enrolled in school, swing by the geology department and ask a prof if he/she can think of anywhere near by for you to look.


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## mlfishman (Apr 4, 2005)

*selling rock*

I sure hope you guys don't intend to sell any of this wild-collected rock because it is indeed illegal. Also if the rocks collected were once someone's "pet rocks" I've heard you can be charged with kidnapping....:faint:


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

mlfishman said:


> Also if the rocks collected were once someone's "pet rocks" I've heard you can be charged with kidnapping....:faint:


thanks you just made my day! [smilie=l: [smilie=l: [smilie=l: [smilie=l:


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

mlfishman said:


> I sure hope you guys don't intend to sell any of this wild-collected rock because it is indeed illegal. Also if the rocks collected were once someone's "pet rocks" I've heard you can be charged with kidnapping....:faint:


:rofl I think shipping would cost too much to make selling of illegally collected rocks worth while. However, I think for the most part, that people won't mind you taking rocks for your aquarium UNLESS it is on protected land. For instance, you can NOT remove tuffa rock from the mono lake area, not that it would sink in your aquarium anyways.

All of the rocks in my aquarium I have collected. In my brackish tank I have basalt from the Hawaiian islands and from Pisgah crator in the middle of the Mojave. The bedford canyon formation I collected off the side of the road, the walls are quite brittle and rockfalls are common, I'm sure someone had the job of clearing the road all of the time, and I doubt they would mind if I helped them a long a little bit. However, in my geology class last year, we all took a fieldtrip to the spot where we wacked off big chunks from the wall and took it all home. Most of the time, no one really cares if you take rocks. And if someone does care, they will probably just tell you not to take them.


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## MATTHEW MAHLING (Dec 1, 2005)

mlfishman said:


> I sure hope you guys don't intend to sell any of this wild-collected rock because it is indeed illegal. QUOTE]
> 
> Just let people hardscape their tanks in Peace. You post this similar $#!+ it seems quite often when someone is looking for or selling hardscape items.
> Most are grown folks who can take care of theirselves.
> ...


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## [email protected] (May 12, 2005)

The rock in question in the original post comes from China. I have had it a few times -- VERY EXPENSIVE! I paid upward of $5 /lb for it! There's a tank on our website with it and I believe I posted it here a while back www.aquariumdesigngroup.com > Galleries > Live Planted aquariums

I'd be willing to sell a few good pieces-- like enough for a 20 gallon tank or so. I can say it will affect your water chemistry a bit (increase hardness, etc.)


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## mlfishman (Apr 4, 2005)

You know what matthew, thats kinda nervy lashing back @ someone who has about 5 times as many posts as you do, for providing you with some info that has been provided to me on here in the past...I wasn't asking if you liked the information, but rather posting it for the common knowledge of yourself and others....passing on info that was passed on to me in a similar fashion...granted a few of my posts have some tongue-in-cheek flair to them, but be that as it may, are not any less factual due to this....just because you did not enjoy my information doesn't make it any less useful for others and if you didn't notice, you were the only one who responded with a complaint, while othes responded with legitimate replies (including the creator of the thread check this: thanks you just made my day! ).....pretty selfish for a public forum if you ask me but let's not make this thread about our lack of agreement on internet forum behavior,....dead it........:icon_hang



MATTHEW MAHLING said:


> mlfishman said:
> 
> 
> > I sure hope you guys don't intend to sell any of this wild-collected rock because it is indeed illegal. QUOTE]
> ...


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Amen Mlfishman; Especially when it cost me about $35.00 a ton for that imagenary granite rock I bought for the ditch out back....;-)...Jim


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## mlfishman (Apr 4, 2005)

Rock on! Pun intended. :rock:


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## ChrisGray (Feb 23, 2006)

i dont know the name of them but i have seen them at local lawn care places
i would try one or maybe a home depot or something


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hey guys just an update on this, i got my 4 pieces of petrified wood and they are awesome!!! very natural looking rock and has a nice color to it.

The best part is all i did was rinse it with hot tap water for a couple mins and the wood is already very clean unlike driftwood where you need to boil/scrab etc. But i dumped them in a bucket of water just to be safe anyway. Here are some pics of the my rocks 





































now i need to figure out how to position those 4 rocks in my 50 gallon tank


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

aquaport.com sells that kind of rock


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

nap83 said:


> aquaport.com sells that kind of rock


where? all i see is some kind of drinking water filter's website thx


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

That 2nd piece is awesome. I can already see that poking out of the substrate.


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## blistexluv (Aug 18, 2006)

*i know this is late, but i found this when doing a search...*

in case anyone is still wondering, those rocks in the first picture are called (somewhat generically) greenstone, which is metasomatized basalt (metasomatized = metamorphosed with the inclusion of fluids, most commonly seawater). so you'll find these rocks like these in belts where original basalts underwent dramatic changes, such as along some mountain belts.

being a pseudo-generic term, not all greenstones will look like the ones amano chose. his formed in a certain place with discrete components.

and fyi, the white banding is composed of calcite or aragonite (CaCO3), so that would absolutely alter water chemistry. if you want to include rocks in your tank i'd suggest looking for igneous rocks such as granites and basalts (there are countless species of each) to minimize the leaching of unwanted elements into your water.


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

blistexluv: Thanks for the info on the rocks. It actually gave me more stuff to look up andd learn about rocks in general. Also its a very informed first post, Thanks. My only complaint! Where were you when my "Honor" was being inpuned about the granite name ;-) LOL,,,,Jim


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