Harriet Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I have several fossils that I found washed up on the shoreline of Lake Huron. These small coral fossils break off of the shale/sandstone reefs all year round. Some are highly polished from the beach, these are clean no problem. Others have a lot algae (not stone) ot them. I have soaked them in vinegar, and now baking soda. Would it be beneficial to use bleach to get the silt/algae off. Or would I damage the finer quartz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 hi, harriet. it would probably be best if you could post a clear picture of what you're dealing with. if you're talking about a coral that's been replace with silica and actually turned into a "rock" then it'll probably stand up pretty well to mechanical removal of silt and algae by using a relatively soft brush and water. you might also be able to kill/bleach the algae with a mild solution of peroxide or chlorine bleach. just sort of depends on how stable and strong your fossil is. you don't want to make it look unnatural with whatever you do to it. by the way, coral that hasn't been replaced by silica is likely to be damaged by vinegar, so you have to be careful. if you put something in vinegar and notice a lot of bubbling, your fossil is probably dissolving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks for the annswer. I will try to select some rocks and post some pictures. I did have some bubbling, but the fossils were more clear. I think I am after a persistant silt/algae from the lake water. I have soaked some of these rocks for days in vinegar. Some have holes in them where small plants/seaweed have grown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks for the annswer. I will try to select some rocks and post some pictures. I did have some bubbling, but the fossils were more clear. I think I am after a persistant silt/algae from the lake water. I have soaked some of these rocks for days in vinegar. Some have holes in them where small plants/seaweed have grown. well, i'm guessing you're dealing with quartz replacement, like "petoskey stone" fossilization, but since i can't see the fossils, i'm not sure. even mild acids can be rough on calcium carbonate, which is what a lot of marine stuff is orginally made of. silica/quartz, on the other hand, is much more resistant. with algae, sometimes you want to kill it, and then brush it off, but you also want to do a good rinse in water for some time if you soak something in vinegar or any other chemical, because its action can be ongoing after you want it to stop. you may have read another thread the past couple of days where a fossil broke from the pressure of gasses releasing from an internal chemical reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks Tracer. I am trying to post a picture, but I don't think its working. This is test picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 harriet - your image tag shows a path that makes no sense. i've got a help post pinned near the top in the help forum you can look at. you need to actually upload the picture to the board, and then insert the tag to it in your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 how to put pictures in posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 I am back and I have successfully attached my picture. I using a 1M jpg file size and kept having problems. These fossils have survived lake huron wave action. And I have smacked into rocks and ice so they are not fragile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I see dead coral. That squiggly looking thing on the rock to the left looks pretty interesting. Do you have a close up of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 yeah, harriet, those look pretty rockified (sorry to get all technical on ya). i'd probably just put them briefly in a reasonable bleachy solution and brush them with a soft bristle brush and rinse them well. this is assuming the "natural" look bugs you. a lot of the time i leave stuff exactly as i found it. it's always an iffy thing to start pranking with the natural look. i mean, some of those society women look worked on, if you know what i mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Oh I appreciate all advise. Thank you. I scrubbed for 2 hours and it is beneficial. I still have tons of scum on all of my dead coral, so it is soaking. Sometimes the beach activity cleans the fossil so nice. I use to only take those. Now I want more, so I am determined to see what is under the scum. Here is the squiggly close up. I hope it helps. I need to get a tripod for better fossil pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Trying again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 picture's too small to look at close up, harriet. try making it 1000 pixels tall and a proportional length wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Here is another attempt at pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 That's better although I still don't know what they are. Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Odd shapes on a rock are common...However, this one is interesting Note the circular holes in this feature Original photo over edited to help these old eyes I have no clue what this shape might represent Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Think it is the crossection of byrozoans.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Think it is the crossection of byrozoans.... Sounds good. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Bryozoan ID makes sense... However, my brain is not hard-wired for abstract association no mental image to overlay for comparison Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 It look a bit like chain coral to me. Cystihalysites sp. is the one I have pictured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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