Lava Rock Questions :)

[SaltyTony]

i have this company that sells lava rocks near my house and i was looking around and they have this rock that looks almost as close as Live Rocks. its called a Normax Lava Rock and i was wondering if safe to use this rock on a tank?. i will be curing it also during my cycle with maybe 15lbs of live rocks for my 30Gallon.

 

[melosu58]

I`ve never used it but I`ve heard others say it`s not good to use. Dont know why. Maybe others could expound on that.

 

[Jnam]

Its not calcium based, try looking for lime rocks. Most lime is ancient coral reefs. It works as a base (lime). The lava rock you have is full of things like copper and Iron which those 2 elements in a reef tank will lead to a nasty crash, most inverts cant handle any amount of copper in your water, and iron will cause crazy algea blooms.

 

[fishmonkey]

yes, the lava rock contains minerals that are a big no no in SW tanks. i learned that one the hard way...

 

[SaltyTony]

thank you, im sorta sad.. this rock looks so nice lol

 

[thincat]

Look at the reddish color of some of those lava rocks in your picture. That's rust from the iron in the lava rock.

 

[fishmonkey]

lol and i dont think we even have to explaiin the hazard of RUST in an aquarium...

but besides that, you can get base rock for like 1-3 dollars a pound. and if you go onto craigslist, there are all kinds of people willing to sell live rock for very cheap too.