Lava rock in filter?

[earhtmother]

I have a large pail of lava that I would like to use up and I am wondwring if I could use it in the bottom of my AC. I only jave filter floss in there right now and when it is changed its usually only the top 2" that is dirty so I figure if I put lava rock in the bottom and half the amount of floss I will not only save on floss but also keep a constant supply of BB in the filter.
On a side note I am hoping that scrubbing the rock with a stiff brush and hot water is the only prep that is involved

 

[BBradbury]

Using Lava Rock

I have a large pail of lava that I would like to use up and I am wondwring if I could use it in the bottom of my AC. I only jave filter floss in there right now and when it is changed its usually only the top 2" that is dirty so I figure if I put lava rock in the bottom and half the amount of floss I will not only save on floss but also keep a constant supply of BB in the filter.
On a side note I am hoping that scrubbing the rock with a stiff brush and hot water is the only prep that is involved

Hello mom...

Actually, if you're willing to change most of the tank water weekly, you can use lava rock and an air stone attached to an air pump in place of the mechanical filter. The filter really does very little to keep the tank water clean and does nothing more than mix oxygen into the tank water in a tank that gets most of the water removed and replaced every few days. The texture of the lava rock provides a home for the beneficial bacteria and large weekly water changes keep the pollutants out of the water and keeps oxygen and mineral levels replenished.

B

 

[earhtmother]

I do do 50-75% WCs weekly when I can & I would agree with you about no HOB is needed except that the top 2/3" of floss is ALWAYS a disgusting brown so obviously the HOB *IS* doing something. Yes I know it is probably due to overfeeding and tannins etc but until I can see less colour on the floss I'm afraid the HOB stays.

 

[BBradbury]

Lava Rock

I do do 50-75% WCs weekly when I can & I would agree with you about no HOB is needed except that the top 2/3" of floss is ALWAYS a disgusting brown so obviously the HOB *IS* doing something. Yes I know it is probably due to overfeeding and tannins etc but until I can see less colour on the floss I'm afraid the HOB stays.

Yes. I can understand the need for a water filtering device if the water changes aren't consistent. But, the filter will only keep the water slightly cleaner. However, the filter in a tank that receives large water changes weekly, is simply filtering water that's already clean. I have a 300 gallon tank that has no mechanical filtration, just a substrate of gravel and lava rock. It does get regular, very large water changes and has a large air pump and air stones to keep the water moving and aerated. The large water changes remove most of the dissolved nitrogen from the fish waste and maintains good oxygen and mineral levels.

B

 

[Delapool]

Lava rock swapsounds good to me. I’m pretty sure people have done that before.