peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Nov 3, 2014 18:28:16 GMT -5
I've had a large pink halite crystal cluster for about 10 years. I had it in a glass cabinet, with some of those packages that come in camera lenses etc that supposedly absorb damp -- but my humid climate is eating away at my cluster. It's slowly but surely crumbling into little piles of salt. Does anyone have an idea? If I could ship it safely, I would almost be tempted to send it to somebody in a dryer climate but I don't believe it can even be shipped at this point. I hand-carried it to New Orleans from a rock show in Nevada and now I somewhat regret bringing it here, as I fear I may be slowly destroying a once beautiful specimen. If anyone has any ideas feel free to let me know? I apologize if I asked this question before, as I think I did ask a few years back, but without coming to any final conclusion...
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,104
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Post by Thunder69 on Nov 3, 2014 20:55:26 GMT -5
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Nov 3, 2014 20:58:21 GMT -5
Oh man, I'm sure I can find such a thing. I live in New Orleans. Of course I can find a sports memorabilia store. Why oh why didn't I think of this before? Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to try this one and report back.
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Post by mohs on Nov 3, 2014 21:36:43 GMT -5
the above sounds like a great idea I was going to say encase it in a opticon form like the do with those pyramids tricky probably
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 3, 2014 22:03:34 GMT -5
How large is your specimen ? I've been using golf ball & baseball cubes for all of my sensitive specimens. Even without sealing, most are tight enough fitting that they won't let humidity in. The better cases also have a UV inhibitor right in the plastic, which helps to prevent color change in UV sensitive specimens. Every couple of months, either change your silica gel packets, or put them in the oven for a half hour on about 125-135 degrees to dry them out. They absorb and hold moisture. These are the baseball / Tennis ball cubes that I use. They're a little bit expensive, but well worth it. www.ebay.com/itm/261212470191?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Nov 4, 2014 9:41:32 GMT -5
That's a small meat tray it's sitting in at the moment, to keep the shedding salt from going everywhere. So around 5.5 inches by maybe 6 inches by less than 4 inches at the tallest... It's a quickie Instagram but there are still well-formed cubic crystals on the specimen that I can see in real life so I'm anxious to preserve it while I still can. The baseball cube idea is too small but I'll look into something along that line...
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Post by captbob on Nov 4, 2014 10:05:19 GMT -5
Heat will help negate humidity. Kinda hard to believe when in a southern swamp, but what would the humidity be if the heat wasn't there?
I'm in Florida (rather high humidity) and have had a piece of Halite in one of my display cases for (I dunno exactly) 8-10 years. It's edges are as sharp and defined as when I bought the piece. This is not in an air conditioned / climate controlled environment, we leave the doors and windows open whenever we can. I'm sure the reason it has survived is that it is in a display case (not air tight) with lights on 24/7/365.
I have other halite pieces that I brain farted and left out in the garage. While they probably still taste like salt, they in no way resemble their original structure. Salt globs. You're going for a "dry" heat.
I won't buy more halite for my collection as it's just too unstable in our environment. But, on the other hand, the stuff is cheap. Buy a new specimen every few years!
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 4, 2014 12:08:27 GMT -5
You can also use the crystal cat litter to absorb humidity.
I live in Utah (but it's a dry heat, LOL) and even though we don't have much humidity we do have a ton of Halite and Selenite thanks to the Great Salt Lake.
You need to buy some pink salt (Himalayan Pink, Bolivian Rose, Murray River Rink). First I would gently clean your crystal with rubbing alcohol it will pull off any moisture. You need to take all the loose crystals and mix them with your store bought salt, you are going to make a brine. Take about 1-2C water heat it up to Medium (not boiling) and start adding the salt crystals and stirring. Keep adding salt until no matter what you the salt will not dilute into the water, at that point the water is saturated with pink salt. Pour the water into a squirt/mister/spray bottle have it on a mist setting and coat your crystal with the pink salt water solution. Then put in your oven to dry (150-175 the lowest setting) for a good 1-4 hours depending on humidity you will have to check. This is recommended for yearly maintenance. For you I would repeat the cleaning, coating, and drying until you get your desired results.
Good luck
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 4, 2014 12:54:37 GMT -5
You can also use the crystal cat litter to absorb humidity. I live in Utah (but it's a dry heat, LOL) and even though we don't have much humidity we do have a ton of Halite and Selenite thanks to the Great Salt Lake. You need to buy some pink salt (Himalayan Pink, Bolivian Rose, Murray River Rink). First I would gently clean your crystal with rubbing alcohol it will pull off any moisture. You need to take all the loose crystals and mix them with your store bought salt, you are going to make a brine. Take about 1-2C water heat it up to Medium (not boiling) and start adding the salt crystals and stirring. Keep adding salt until no matter what you the salt will not dilute into the water, at that point the water is saturated with pink salt. Pour the water into a squirt/mister/spray bottle have it on a mist setting and coat your crystal with the pink salt water solution. Then put in your oven to dry (150-175 the lowest setting) for a good 1-4 hours depending on humidity you will have to check. This is recommended for yearly maintenance. For you I would repeat the cleaning, coating, and drying until you get your desired results. Good luck
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 4, 2014 12:56:28 GMT -5
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 4, 2014 12:57:15 GMT -5
well I tried posting a photo
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 4, 2014 16:29:51 GMT -5
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 4, 2014 17:39:23 GMT -5
Here's my pink halite specimen. Only about 4" X 4". This is in a baseball box. So far no loss of material.
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 4, 2014 23:02:50 GMT -5
Here's my pink halite specimen. Only about 4" X 4". This is in a baseball box. So far no loss of material. Sure it will post your photo's but not mine, how did you do that?
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 4, 2014 23:16:55 GMT -5
Hoardingrocks, I use photobucket.
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hoardingrocks
having dreams about rocks
Dazed & Confused
Member since September 2014
Posts: 58
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Post by hoardingrocks on Nov 7, 2014 15:08:30 GMT -5
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Nov 8, 2014 16:11:13 GMT -5
My specimen won't fit in the baseball box but hubby says he can get some acrylic and make a box to the right size. So stay tuned!
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 10, 2014 10:34:09 GMT -5
One more thing to consider when dealing with moisture sensitive minerals is local weather conditions. In my area we received 5" of snow last night. Today a box will arrive in my mail box which will contain one of the Boron minerals. As soon as I bring the box indoors I'll wrap it in insulating material, and let it come up to room temperature over a period of several hours. Bringing a cold mineral into a warm house will cause condensation to form on the mineral, thus causing the mineral to deteriorate.
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Post by captbob on Nov 10, 2014 11:29:17 GMT -5
Hey Don, how about bring it in, unwrap it and immediately hit it with a blowdryer as it comes to indoor temperature? I'm wondering if warming it slowly would simply allow more time for condensation to remain on the specimen.
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 11, 2014 10:07:24 GMT -5
I fear that hitting a near frozen mineral with a blast of hot air may cause many minerals to shatter.
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