Expanded Glass Granulate for live rock replacement
- Thread starter Mike Latimer
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Redfoxtang
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I think most people like to have a natural reef/ ocean look to the tank. Definitely not speaking for everyone but just in general. As I love the natural look and the caves/shapes/shelves you can make with the rock. Those beads looks like NASA is trying to build a fish tank!
Interesting material. Do the internal pores actually extend to the outside or are they fully sealed internal cavities?
The mined rock that so many people are using these days is incredibly non-porous, its literally as dense as bricks used for building. An artificial material that captures the porosity of real live rock (=coral skeletons) would be a huge improvement.
My concern with artificial materials like this is always
1) does it leach odd chemicals into the tank? (seems unlikely if they are made from glass)
2) are the internal pores connected to the outside (useful) or completely sealed off (useless)?
The mined rock that so many people are using these days is incredibly non-porous, its literally as dense as bricks used for building. An artificial material that captures the porosity of real live rock (=coral skeletons) would be a huge improvement.
My concern with artificial materials like this is always
1) does it leach odd chemicals into the tank? (seems unlikely if they are made from glass)
2) are the internal pores connected to the outside (useful) or completely sealed off (useless)?
Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
My 2 cents, seems like it could be used as a "lighter" weight aggregate if used making aragacrete "rock" for aquascaping if it's lighter than crushed coral. Might hold up longer over time as crushed coral will weaken as endoliths burrow into it.
I was thinking of using it in my refugium
delv2323
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I've used hundreds of pounds of it as an inert thickener in custom artificial rock. Done right it looks natural. Aerosil is also a popular thickener.
delv2323
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It's going to depend on what you bind it with. Fiberglass resin will create a pretty solid rock. Some of the Smooth On products, especially if you mix them with water will be porous. You can try various additives from glass beads of various types. There's a ton of stuff out there...
