Marble decoration in a freshwater tank?

Question

Well since putting this into a search engine brought up nothing but those little colorful marbles made for fish tanks I thought I would ask here.  I recently came across a small turtle decoration my grandmother got from bermuda and I was thinking of putting it in my fish tank.  The whole thing is made from the stone marble not those little colorful pebbles.  Is this ok to put in a freshwater tank?  I know some rocks and things can throw off chemical balances and pH levels, but I wasn't sure about this?  If I can how should I go about treating it to put it in?  Would it be just a warm water rinse or something more complicated?

Gary C · Accepted Answer

Marble will have a slight buffering effect in a freshwater tank. In other words, it will raise the pH of acidic water. Acid water may also erode the marble, given a lot of time (you may have noticed that old marble statues or gravestones often look worn down-- that's from acid rain, acid bird droppings, and the like).

However, if your stone carving is small, I don't think the marble will have a large effect on your water chemistry. Put the stone in, and measure the pH and hardness every week or two for a couple of months. If you don't notice an increase in either parameter, the marble is having little or no effect.

Marble decoration in a freshwater tank?

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