slate instead of barebottom?

[spec33]

I want to switch my 3 gallon pico over to bb since I'd rather not have to deal with sand accumulating detritus. Now my question is would it be fine to put slate on the bottom?I have several large chunks of purple slate that are almost the color of coraline that I could cut down to match the size of the tank. Also one more question, if I could do this how would I stop detritus from getting stuck under the slate.

 

[Tahoe61]

Unless you know for certain that the piece does not contain any heavy metals.....problem minerals..then I would not use it as a medium in a salt water tank.

 

[spec33]

does the salt affect the rock? I know slate is safe for freshwater most of the time. Im fairly certain it also doesnt have any oils in it and I can boil it.

 

[bobman]

It can contain metals and are harmful to marine life. I am not saying you cant use it I would just be cautious. Also detritus gets everywhere and would be almost impossible to stop from getting under the rock unless you made some type of under gravel filter to go under it.

 

[spec33]

oh yeah thats true. Ive just been considering going barebottom in order to get all the detritus out. Would it be better to just put like 1/2" sand?. What maintanence should I do with the sand?

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

It's definitely not ideal, but I don't think the amount of metal denoting from the slate will be extremely toxic for most fish. Barebottoms seem to get a lot of the detritus out of tanks. I think there's a sub-forum on it.

- C. Smith

 

[spec33]

so would it be better to just go bb in the pico or have a shallow sandbed?

 

[spec33]

okay scratch this idea im setting up a 7 gallon instead

 

[Cory]

Slate is composed mainly of quartz wich is silica. So it would be fine, largely, but ad to impurities such as heavy metals, your taking a risk.

I painted the bottom glass with "sand spray paint". Looks like sand.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Back in "the day", a lot of tanks had slate bottoms, but they were freshie.

 

[Bunnee911]

Back in "the day", a lot of tanks had slate bottoms, but they were freshie.

With metal edges.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Heavy metal is not fish friendly. Heavy Metal Slate sounds like the name of a hardcore heavy metal band.

I painted the bottom glass with "sand spray paint". Looks like sand.

I've never heard of "sand spray paint", would you mind explaining it to me? And is the paint toxic?

 

[SeaDweller]

Is the bottom clear of the tank clear?

 

[blindskater02]

I would just leave the bottom of the tank bare or use starboard if you need to put something down.

 

[Cory]

Heavy metal is not fish friendly. Heavy Metal Slate sounds like the name of a hardcore heavy metal band.


I've never heard of "sand spray paint", would you mind explaining it to me? And is the paint toxic?

You paint the underside (not inside) so toxicity isnt an issue.

This is an example:

http://www.diy.com/departments/vals...e-effect-matt-spray-paint-400ml/177477_BQ.prd

I like it, looks like sand sort of. Id rathwr use starboard to protect from rocks falling. But my rocks arent stacked high.

 

[attiland]

I know it's old but Slate is safe volcanic rock but rarely used in reef tank due to it's small surface compared to size.

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