Lava Rock Good Or Bad?

[pneumaticbetta]

Ive had a couple of big lava rocks in my tank for a couple months now. What is your input on having lava rocks in saltwater tanks?

 

[BigJay]

man made lava rocks = good
natural lava rock = very bad

 

[pneumaticbetta]

how do you tell the difference?

 

[BigJay]

unless you paid a lot of money for it , its most likely natural lava rock and can be very dangerous for a reef tank. Man made lava rock is sold specifically as such and pretty expensive. If your not sure I'd take it out personally.

 

[chriswho]

The reason natural lava rock is so dangerous is that it may contain heavy metals that can leach into your tank. Am I right?

 

[hma]

The reason natural lava rock is so dangerous is that it may contain heavy metals that can leach into your tank. Am I right?

in principle yes BUT .... it isn't heavy metal which is that dangerous in the long therm ... it is sulfur/sodium-sulfur and something like that; materials which solve in sea water very fast and poison the water and ALL animals.

 

[cbrownfish]

True lava rock is siliceous, based on silicates. You do not want to introduce a silcate based product into a reef tank IMO (most would agree). With that said, I recommend aragonite sand but know folks who have used silcate based sand in a reef tank.

It is kind of like having lead paint in your house. Can you live around it and not die? Sure. But let a small child chew on a painted window sill and you have a BIG problem. Not unlike the RO/DI water debate. Do people have successful tanks using tap water. Sure. Do they have a higher risk of adding a toxin or metal into the tank? Yes.

 

[nikkipigtails]

I not only agree with all of the above, but if you take a close look at it, lava rock is extremely porus and I think detritus would settle into it and become a nitrate factory.