Pagoda stone
Pagoda stone is a name that is mainly used in aquaristics for decorative stone elements.
Characteristic is the layered arrangement of white and deep red pieces of rock; in cross-section, the stone is reminiscent of a side of bacon. The red parts contain a lot of iron and are only loosely bound; they are therefore less resistant to abrasion than the white layers, which are bonded to silicate and have a quartzite-like character. The naming reflects the purely external similarity with the traditional building material of Chinese buildings ( pagoda ), but the pagoda stone in the narrower sense occurs mainly in South America . There it often appears in the canyon walls, where it is won over with great dedication, sometimes in a breakneck manner, for lucrative sales. The mining of the rock is ecologically controversial.
The stone is very popular with aquarium owners because, despite the high iron content, no salts are released into the surrounding water, and because the intense red color, alternating with the clear, shiny white stone, is particularly decorative.
The yellow pagoda stone and the purple pagoda stone are known as rare varieties, which owe their color to the mineral components.