can this be used for baserock

[jc286006]

can this type of rock be used as baserock and if so what would i need to do to it?http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/jcoleman1960/PHOT0033.jpgto it to make it aquarium safe?
this piece is not very porous but some of the pieces i have found look like sponges almost!

[demonsp]

MOst any rock can be used. To be safe a good rinse followed by some sun bleaching wouldnt hurt just to be sure.

[Aliie]

What type of rock is it? Quartz? Sandstone? Shale?

[jc286006]

i live in missouri so i would say it is limestone, but i dont know for sure it isnt quartz or sandstone ,although one piece i found does have a fragment of quartz in it. some of the pieces are very porous like they have worm holes in them. one piece has a really cool looking fossil in it and another piece has the outline of a fossilized leaf and tree branch in it. if they could be made safe they would look really good in my aquarium and they would offer many places for pods,etc to hide in

[jc286006]

also they look very much like the live rock i received with the tank i traded for

[fsn77]

The pieces with fossils in them are most likely a form of limestone. You can test for limestone by putting a few drops of some dilute acid on it (HCl or muratic acid). Limestone will fizz as the carbonate is converted to carbon dioxide.
Quartz is far from porous, so wouldn't make good rock for a reef tank.
Sandstone can contain questionable contaminents that you may not want in a reef tank, such as metals that will leach out over time.

[jc286006]

these rocks are not quartz or sandstone. so i`ll clean them up in boiling water and scrub them good then rinse them off. ill put them in a tub and see if any water parameters go outta wack, if everything stays good i should be safe to put them in my aquarium. i dont have any fish or corals yet and probably wont be able to afford any until after christmas. will vinegar fizz on limestone?

[jc286006]

if vinegar wont fizz ill have to get so muriatic acid from work tomorrow