Opinions on Ohko Rock (Dragon Stone) for RoR planting

Maiden69 · Apr 6, 2023

Hi all!

I don't have a RoR planting yet and the new contest is giving me an itch since I have quite a few ficus and Japanese quince laying around on the yard... and then there are a few JBP 2 year trees that I received that are still slightly dormant that could be transplanted into this.

So, I placed an order for this and seiryu rocks today. I have seen a few people using seiryu here, but only one person that actually used a ohko rock. I did a general search here for dragon stone and there were a lot of hits on the search, but most of them were stones that resembled somewhat a dragon.

Below is a picture from the Amazon ad. I am hoping for something similar, but we all know how this advertisements go, you could end up with 20 lbs of pebbles... the reviews were mostly good, I think around 70% of the ones that posted pictures had decent sized rocks, and I like that because of the holes I could break them or cut them into the size I need easier than a piece of slate.

I also went to a local stone supplier for landscape, lots of decent stones for planting but nothing that had some character for a RoR, at least not that I could carry on one hand. This dragon stones seem to be lighter than most rocks I have seen online.

Any opinions or links to places with alternatives that you have used?

Damage Inc · Apr 6, 2023

RE: the Dragon Stone, I have several pieces left over form hardscaping planted aquariums that I wanted to use for ROR but also couldn't find any other people's experience using them so am still a bit leery of it. I love the look of the stone but it has those large holes in it and I definitely had hose/dig them out before aquarium uses as they were full of sedimentary clay. Also they are clay based so will affect PH somewhat. Back to the holes, I was also concerned they would "pocket" water that in my climate, freeze and potentially fracture the stone. Seiryu looks very interesting and the typical dark colour would contrast roots well so please post pics.

If there are are aquarium stores near you they should carry a selection of hardscaping material like dragon stone, seiryu and elephant stone which is what I've had in my tanks over the years.
Elephant Stone:

Michael P · Apr 6, 2023

You are near the epicenter of "Texas holey rock", a durable limestone that can be found with similar shapes. Use that.

Maiden69 · Apr 7, 2023

Damage Inc said:
Elephant Stone

That one looks nice, thanks!

Michael P said:
Texas holey rock

Never heard of them, but after doing a quick search I found a lot of comments on aquarium forums like the one below. So I may try to find some locally and see how brittle they are.

These rocks are fragile, especially the ones with lots of holes. So, they must be handled with care because they will crack or brake easily.

I also found this seller on Amazon that has quite a few different options available... may check on those at a later time as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Aquarium-Terrariums-Enclosures-Aquascaping/dp/B0B8B1G5H2/ref=sr_1_9?crid=2XV960DV8MJVX&keywords=elephant%2Bstone&qid=1680874919&sprefix=elephant%2Bstone%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-9&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685&th=1

Michael P · Apr 7, 2023

Trust me, the holey rock will not be nearly as fragile as the tree you want to grow on it.

Maiden69 · Apr 8, 2023

I received the Seiryu yesterday, and I think I will keep them so far. They are a decent size for a medium tree. The large one is around 9" x 4.5" and the small one is around 6" x 4". I definitely like the color, I wonder what a muriatic acid bath would produce

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