# Where do I get dolomite



## mikejp67

Is dolomite ground limestone? The same lime you buy for your garden in the 50lb bags?


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## fish monger

mikejp67 said:


> Is dolomite ground limestone? The same lime you buy for your garden in the 50lb bags?



It is limestone but, I don't think it's the same as gardening limestone. Google it. Back in the day, dolomite was the standard substrate for salt water tanks and you could get it easily at any store that carried salt water fish and supplies.


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## Byron

Dolomite is not lime, dolomite is a distinct mineral composed of calcium and magnesium carbonates. I used to use it in my filters to increase GH and pH in my soft water, but can't find it anywhere near me. I have seen it in the US online. As fishmonger said, it used to be a substrate in marine tanks, but it seems to have been superseded by crushed coral and aragonite. Aragonite is very similar, I am using that now in one tank, but the coral increases the pH too much. But don't use lime, that is very different.


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## mikejp67

Byron said:


> Dolomite is not lime, dolomite is a distinct mineral composed of calcium and magnesium carbonates. I used to use it in my filters to increase GH and pH in my soft water, but can't find it anywhere near me. I have seen it in the US online. As fishmonger said, it used to be a substrate in marine tanks, but it seems to have been superseded by crushed coral and aragonite. Aragonite is very similar, I am using that now in one tank, but the coral increases the pH too much. But don't use lime, that is very different.


I was at the home depot the other day and I saw a 5lb bag of Dolomite lime. Is that the stuff i need?


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## fish monger

CheapPetProducts.Net has 25 pound bags for $8.51 each. It is made by a company that specializes in aquarium substrates. Take a look to see if that's something you might like. I'd stay away from the Home Depot stuff. It might be fine, but why take the risk ?


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## Byron

mikejp67 said:


> I was at the home depot the other day and I saw a 5lb bag of Dolomite lime. Is that the stuff i need?


No, nothing with the word "lime" in it. For one thing, this will be a powder, and you want gravel-size particles, such as coarse sand or fine gravel. Dolomite used to be available as fine gravel, and fish monger seems tohave found one.


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## danielthomas78

hi guys, so,, i know nothing about fish or aquariums. ive stumbled across this site because i was researching dolomite and this site came up on a search..
i am the manager of a dolomite quarry and processing plant in new zealand , the only one in nz for that matter and one of very few in the southern hemisphere. 
so you use dolomite in your aquariums...interesting!
im wondering if there is a market for this product? we can crush and mill dolomite to any specification
what grade of dolomite do you guys use and in what quantities? 
do you have difficulties getting hold of it?
thanks for your help
daniel


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## Varkolak

If its cheaper then argonite I can definitely see a market for it especially if its a more stable ph - If you were to make it into the size of BB gun pellets you would have a pretty universal product and could even go into making it 3 sizes, a med grain sand, a BB med size, and normal aquarium gravel size

With the proper marketing and packaging and if you were to be able to clean the bulk of the dust off it you might be able to establish some demand from chain stores as well as local stores but your best bet would be online sales to see if there is still a market for it, as Byron said it used to be very popular but has been replaced by coral and argonite with coral being more drastic of a ph change - Market it as more stable then coral with the advantage of argonite in particle size/texture and run some tests to prove it


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## War Monk

The dolomite lime you saw in the hardware store is likely crushed limestone and dolomite and will be a fine powder. The lime is added to the dolomite to raise pH and keep Ca:Mg ratios kind of in balance when you chuck it on the garden.


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## Byron

danielthomas78 said:


> hi guys, so,, i know nothing about fish or aquariums. ive stumbled across this site because i was researching dolomite and this site came up on a search..
> i am the manager of a dolomite quarry and processing plant in new zealand , the only one in nz for that matter and one of very few in the southern hemisphere.
> so you use dolomite in your aquariums...interesting!
> im wondering if there is a market for this product? we can crush and mill dolomite to any specification
> what grade of dolomite do you guys use and in what quantities?
> do you have difficulties getting hold of it?
> thanks for your help
> daniel


Whether or not an aquarist needs dolomite depends upon the source water we use (tap water normally) and the intended fish. And here I'm thinking freshwater fish.

Some fish occur in very soft water, the hardness (which is primarily determined by the minerals calcium and magnesium) can be near-zero, and the pH is usually on the acidic side. Generally speaking, South American and SE Asian fish fall in this category. But other fish live in water that has a degree of hardness much higher, and the pH will naturally be on the basic side (above pH 7). Livebearers which occur in Central America fall into this category, as do some rainbow fish from Australia, and the African rift lake cichlids need very hard water.

Most, but not all, of us living in North America have water that is usually on the hard side rather than very soft. There are some exceptions, such as myself in the Pacific Northwest where our source water is soft and slightly acidic. I've no experience with Australian/New Zealand water, but I believe most of it is on the harder side. Anyway, those of us with soft water may need to increase the hardness for the fish, or the aquatic plants if it is very soft, in order to provide sufficient hard minerals (calcium and magnesium primarily). Dolomite is about the best source for this, as it includes both minerals, and takes very little.

Dolomite used to be widely seen in NA as a gravel/sand substrate material for marine tanks. Marine (salt water) is high in the hard minerals and pH, so this is always essential. But today there are more products available to prepare marine water so the reliance on dolomite has changed.

So, the point in all this, is that there may be a very small market for dolomite to begin with (from the aquarium hobby perspective). And it is available in a few places in NA, and presumably it would be more common if it has more demand.

Hope this helps.

Byron.


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## danielthomas78

sweet thanks for replying,

yes dolomite is different to lime. we also operate a lime quarry and crushing plant next door.

lime is calcium carbonate , crushed up limestone . dolomite is calcium magnesium carbonate, crushed up dolomite,,,.limestone with added magnesium basically.

i think im going to have to look into this further.

thanks guys

daniel


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