volcanic rock?

[Salt4Us]

Hi all,

We have a bow front 5 gallon tank that has prett much cycled already. it's got 7-10 lbs of LS. We have one piece of LR in it (guessing about 1 lb). We have 2 hermits & about 3 snails in there as cleanup & no other livestock. We have a hang on filter pump that provide the water movement (no filter media or anything in the hang on pump) & a heater. We want to put in more rock but don't want to throw the tank back into cycling if we put in more LR. Plus we don't want to chance any Aiptasia's popping up from the LR.

My question is has anyone had any experience w/ volcanic rock? Can we add a couple/few pounds of volcanic rock, have it turn to live rock since the tank is cycled & be OK?

Thanks for your help/feedback!

 

[loganj]

I'd stay away from the volcanic rock as it may be contaminated with heavy metals (copper,ect...). The dry base rock sold as honeycomb rock makes a nice piece of LR after a few months and won't contaminate the tank.
Logan J

 

[Salt4Us]

Thanks Logan! Now we just need to figure out what the drybase rock looks like so we don't buy the wrong stuff.

 

[youronlysin]

One lfs in town is selling volcanic rock in place of base rock. They said it grows fine. Strange how so many people get different answers. I guess all you can do these days it give it a shot and see what happens.

 

[dralarms]

Hey now wait minute, everybody says hirocks.com has good base rock but it is "volcanic" rock. I got about 120 lbs of it.

 

[youronlysin]

I can pick up dry volcanic rock all day long out here in the desert. Maybe if I just clean it well and soak it. Problem is, that stuff floats!

 

[scuba_steve]

Problem is, that stuff floats! heheh

 

[dralarms]

OK, mine don't float. Am I missing something?

"This Hawaiian dry-base rock is ideal for all marine aquariums.It comes from a quarry in Hawaii and is used in the paving of the runways and roads.Instead of importing asphalt, they crush this up which is why a lot of roads there are lighter in color.The rock is a calcium-carbonate base,which makes it very dense and helps stabilize the ph to an average of 7.8-8.2.This makes it great for african cichlids and all marine environments.

There are plenty of holes,fissures,and cevasses for smaller marine inhabitants to find shelter.Live corals,corallines,macro-algae and the many varied species of anemone all adapt quite easily and begin to show developement quickly.

The color varies from a nice light cream to a red-bronze hue which can brighten up an aquarium in contrast to the dark volcanic and lava base rock currently in local stores.It's dense characteristics and hard structure keep it intact unlike the soft Tufa stone.If you look you might find fragments of shells and calcium tubes whos owners existed long ago.

If you used all Live rock it would cost alot and the pieces you put on the bottom are going to lose most of their life in darkness,using our rock as 80 percent of the total rock in your tank and adding just a few Live Fiji,Tonga, or Marshall will allow an ecosystem to develope and Save You Money.

Please view our feedback on Ebay under "BASE ROCK 60LBS" or"hirocks"to see what our satisfied customers have written"

I was mistaken, not volcanic rock after all.