Rocks

[sptfyre51]

I recently moved into a new house. The house I moved into had several lava rocks as part of the landscape. I want to put those in my tank. What do I need to do, if anything, to make it so they are safe to add? Do I just wash them really well?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sptfyre51 http:///t/397468/rocks#post_3542632
I recently moved into a new house. The house I moved into had several lava rocks as part of the landscape. I want to put those in my tank. What do I need to do, if anything, to make it so they are safe to add? Do I just wash them really well?

I wouldn't use it.... you could boil the rocks I suppose to remove any nasty unwanted stuff, but I don't know anyone even using lava rocks in a SW tank...I'm not sure why, so look into that first.

 

[2quills]

The general consensus seems to be that lava rock leaches undesirable stuff into the tank like heavy metals and such. I can't confirm but there are tons of reports of people crashing their systems using lava rock.
And I don't think it helps act as a buffer like calcified rock does.

 

[jay0705]

+1

 

[geridoc]

2Quills is right - lava rock won't contribute to the buffering capacity of the tank.

 

[flower]

What a shame, the stuff is really pretty.

 

[sptfyre51]

That is really good to know. For some reason I thought lava rock was a great rock to use in saltwater aquariums because it is porous. I will just place the rocks back where they were taken from. What types of rocks are good to use for saltwater tanks? I have about 20 lbs or live rock in my tank so instead of paying for more live rock I'd like to just add rock and let it cultivate.

 

[geridoc]

You can generally get "base rock", which is formerly live rock, at your lfs. It will cost less than LR.

 

[2quills]

There are some lava rock that is marketed to hobbyist. The composition can very so much depending on where it comes from. The general rule is that if you don't know then don't risk it. Makes sense.