Texas Holey Rock (honeycomb limestone)

Entry in progress—B.P.
 
 
Cichlid-forum.com
Texas Holey Rock
by Marc Elieson
I get a lot of questions and comments about the rocks in my aquariums, so I have decided to address most of those questions here in this article. Well, these rocks are called “honeycomb limestone” or Texas “holey rock.” And as you may have guessed by its name, it is endemic to TX, which is where I live.
 
Limestone and dolomite (recalcified limestone) are often called carbonate because they consist primarily of the carbonate minerals calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2). Lime-stone is formed by the accumulation of these minerals being deposited on top of each other over a period of thousands of years. A honeycomb appearance may form as the earth moves and fractures form. Seeping rainwater mixes with sulfurous gases in these cracks, which dissolve the limestone. The result is limestone with a honeycomb of chambers.
 
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From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Beau50)
Date: 1996/01/07
Subject: Re: Setting up 55 Mbuna tank
   
I have experimented with a variety of rocks. I personnally prefer what is called “Lace” rock. It is volcanic rock which is often conveniently shaped like caves, or flat pieces about 1/2 inch thick. It is light, and eay to form into caves, stack, and alike. Being lighter, it costs less than some other type rock, such as Texas Holey rock.
   
LaLePoP
Saturday June 3, 2006
Painted Texas Holey Rock
In parts of Texas is rock called “Texas holy rock” ....like a lot of holes, as Swiss cheese.
 
some more, some less.
 
I am painting this one. The character of these rocks are so fluid and dynamic, I thought I’d try to enhance already occouring contours cracks and holes. 
 
TXHoleyRocks.com
Welcome to TXHoleyRocks.com!
Written by TxHoleyRocks  
Jul 03, 2006 at 03:52 PM
Thank you for visiting TXHoleyRocks.com.  We are dedicated to providing incomparable Texas Holey Rocks for your fish and aquarium, and also providing you with the best cichlid and aquarium information available.
 
Before we got into holey rocks ourselves, we were also shocked at how expensive they are.  But after handling these rocks for a while, we now understand all the time and labor it takes to process each rock.  So what you are seeing is a rock that has taken quite a few hours of work to get to that point.  By the time we have hunted, hauled, cleaned, tagged, weighed, measured, photographed and packaged the rocks for shipment to you, we have invested as much as 8 hours into each one.  Please see our section “About Holey Rocks” to better understand all the work involved.
 
Despite all the effort and hours, we do get a kick out of some of the amazing rocks we encounter out on our hunts, some of them suitable only for the very largest tanks.  But we still want you all to be able to see them!  The rock below is an example of the amazing stuff we find out in the hills around Austin, Texas.
 
AmLo Farms
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Gardening 2008
(...)
~ cleared a bunch of rock from the back (hill country here in texas is famous for it’s “texas holey rocks” and the entire back of our property is filled with it). found really good dirt around the larger rocks we are keeping for landscape purposes and transplanted violets around them. this should look really pretty next winter!