Are Cinder blocks reef safe?

Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum

Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:

MrGone

:)
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
328
Location
Issaquah, WA
concrete_masonry_block.png


I'm reaquascaping a deep tank and was thinking about buying some of the narrow version of the cinder block I posted above to make the base rock. I was wondering if you guys think they are reef safe? My Dad is wondering if the lime in the concrete will be ok?
 
don't do it. No telling what's in that rock. I think you would regret it. Use PVC or acrylic rod to 'lift' your rock if that is what you are trying to accomplish.
 
If you use them you would have to cure them to leach out the ALK from the lime. Concrete blocks are made from cement, lime and sand, gravel and pumice.

If you look into them you will see that there are different ratio's in the way they are made. Some are more porous and lighter than others, labeled as a 60/40 or 50/50 ( I don't remember the exact details, I was a brick layer's hod carrier near 20 years ago) the lighter ones will have more surface area for bacteria to grow as they are less dense and have more pumice.

Having said that, Yes, IMO blocks are reef safe.
But, if the blocks are made with silica sand they could cause diatom problems in the long term. I suppose, if you buy your blocks from a masonry company (not Home depot) like Mutual Materials in Bellevue you could easily trace them back to the manufacturing source and find out exactly what they are made of.

Instead, I would suggest using a PVC pipe structure to hold your rock work up or acrylic rod like already suggested. It will provide your fish with much larger caves to hide in.

If you take a look at page eight of my build thread here, you can get an idea of my PVC rock rack to hold the rocks up in a 30" deep tank.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top