# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Stones



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Last week I drove up to Taos (nice place) for a meeting. On the way back I detoured through the mountains and picked up some stones. I am thinking of taking a group of these stones to Dallas to auction at the AGA conference. I want to know what you guys think.

To get an idea what they look like, here is a closeup of one of the rocks.








For the purists, the rocks are an amphibolite facies metabasalt.

I picked the rocks up from a hillside along the road. I bleached them and scrubbed them to remove lichen. Then I soaked them in an acid bath to remove caliche and some iron stains. Finally one of them had to be scrubbed again to remove gypsum deposits.

I have five of the stones. The image below







is a shot of one arrangement. I've never done a 5-stone arrangment before and I found it fairly hard to do. I'm not sure that all these stones are useful or suitable. Three of them are about the same size and shape, which constrains their use a little, and one is so different that it may not fit the group.

Here is a second shot of the arrangement








What do ya'll think, Are these stones the bee's knees? Do they all belong in one group? What do you think of the arrangement?

Roger Miller

[This message was edited by Roger Miller on Mon August 25 2003 at 06:00 AM.]


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Last week I drove up to Taos (nice place) for a meeting. On the way back I detoured through the mountains and picked up some stones. I am thinking of taking a group of these stones to Dallas to auction at the AGA conference. I want to know what you guys think.

To get an idea what they look like, here is a closeup of one of the rocks.








For the purists, the rocks are an amphibolite facies metabasalt.

I picked the rocks up from a hillside along the road. I bleached them and scrubbed them to remove lichen. Then I soaked them in an acid bath to remove caliche and some iron stains. Finally one of them had to be scrubbed again to remove gypsum deposits.

I have five of the stones. The image below







is a shot of one arrangement. I've never done a 5-stone arrangment before and I found it fairly hard to do. I'm not sure that all these stones are useful or suitable. Three of them are about the same size and shape, which constrains their use a little, and one is so different that it may not fit the group.

Here is a second shot of the arrangement








What do ya'll think, Are these stones the bee's knees? Do they all belong in one group? What do you think of the arrangement?

Roger Miller

[This message was edited by Roger Miller on Mon August 25 2003 at 06:00 AM.]


----------



## Cody (Jun 26, 2004)

Absolutely beautiful!

I like the arrangement, especially how you placed the two rocks on the right so close together. The rock on the far left seems a little too big or is it just the angle of the first arrangement photo.

How does their color hold up when wet?


----------



## perrush (Feb 24, 2003)

@ Roger :

I like the stones, they are ok (as long they don't raise KH and GH) -- LOL









The arrangement is ok too, looks like an amano setup.

But I especially like the way you used the green towel to simulate a carpet of plants. Gives a very well idea how it will look like in the aqua.

--
English isn't my native language, but I guess you already noticed that ))
--

Perrush


----------



## António Vitor1 (Feb 2, 2003)

it's great rocks...

japanese culture don't like the number 4 (bad luck), 3 excellent, 5 not bad, but never 4...

if you put 2 stones a little bit closer it resembles 4 stones...
yuck!











> quote:
> 
> Q. Are there any unlucky numbers in Japan?
> 
> ...


 quote taken from here
put the stones in 3 groups, that way you embrace the japanese culture...









Regards!
António Vitor


----------



## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

They make a wonderful set with many great combinations. One thing I like is that there are 'extra' stones that allow the end user to come up with their own plan and design.

I would be interested to see what color they are when wet. Would it be possible to post pics?

*James Hoftiezer
Hoftiezer.Net - Journals and Libraries
Rate My Tank!!

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive(No Longer Active))
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive(No Longer Active))*


----------



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

I think you'll get some good $$$ for them Roger. At the very least you'll have extra room in your baggage for extra goodies on your way home.

Best,
Phil


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

James,

here is a photo of the same rock in the closeup above, but wet.









And for further interest, here








is a closeup of the rock surface.

Roger Miller


----------



## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

It looks like granite from the close up picture. I could be wrong though.

72 Gal, 3 WPG PC 10 hour, pressurize co2 /w controller 3 bps, Fluval 404, ph 6.75
A Canadian's Plant Traders website


----------



## Guest (Aug 27, 2003)

Nice rocks Roger. I wonder if Scott H. will really buy them


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Scott liked the *idea* of auctioning rocks. Whether he is that keen on the reality is another thing entirely.

I figure that if I take rocks to the Dallas conference the most likely buyers will be folks from Texas who drove in and can drive out with an extra 40 or 50 lbs. If you aren't one of the few Texan's who lives west of the Pecos then good rocks can be tough to find.

Here, it's pretty easy.


Roger Miller


----------



## Guest (Aug 27, 2003)

You guys are lucky.

I just came back from Vegas last week and had a pleasure to see Hoover Dom and Grand Canyon. What a site









Rocks surrounding the canyon and sunset was something I will never forget.


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I agree those rocks have great texture. I would be curious how they look underwater. I found water can greatly change the color and tone. some rocks look much darker, others much lighter under water than out of the water. Great find!

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Robert,

The last two pictures show the rocks wet, and that is pretty much what they look like under water. What concerns me more is how they might look after being under water for a few weeks. In any tank where they develop a heavy biofilm these rocks will become fairly non-descript. A lot of their appeal comes from the black and white contrast, and that contrast can be obscured. Of course, taking them out, bleaching them and scrubbing them down again gets rid of the film.


Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


----------



## Em\'sDad (Jul 31, 2003)

Roger,

I like the way you have the strata all going in roughly the same direction. I might be a bit "anal" but I'm always distracted when people try to make a natural looking arrangement with one type of rock with the stata going all over the place!

They look good to me!

Roger


----------



## Izac (Nov 16, 2003)

wow!








I'm just looking for stones like that... Lucky you! 
Think I will take a trip over the mountains now.. Hehe

I'm new here.
Excuse my english.


----------

