chufa Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 I made the mistake of purchasing a lava rock when I first set up. The rock came along with a batch of excellend Florida aquascaped rock. It is, BTW, the largest rock in my tank. I did some background research, and these rocks are submerged for at least 3 years or so in saltwater during the aquascaping process. The rock itself has different types of algae, small sponges, coralline, and other stuff growing. It has been 5 weeks, and I have had no problems yet. I am still questioning wether it will be safe long term. I'd like to keep it, since it has an great shape. Will the time it spent through the aquascaping process be enough of making this rock safe and not leach out nasty chemicals? I would also think many reefs are found around volcanic islands, so there would be plenty of these rocks. I would appreciate your opinions. Link to comment
chufa Posted September 20, 2002 Author Share Posted September 20, 2002 Oh, crap, I posted in the wrong forum X) . Please Chris, feel free to move this to the general forum! (puts on flame-resistant suit) Link to comment
tinyreef Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 thermite grenade! jk, i use lava (red not real) rock all the time. i prefer them due to their porosity, lightweight, and price vs. LR, limestone, and tufa. they take on coralline the fastest imo but not for corals though. i think it's due to the many pits and protrusions vs. limestone (best results for coral propagation ime btw). people have warned about leaching contaminants and stuff so that may be a concern. i always soak mine for a few days before introduction. yours already has aged a bit as you say so i would think it's good to go. you know real quick if something's contaminated (couple hours tops). Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 Often times the problem lies in the lava itself. Allow me to clarify, some lava is high in metals and toxins (others are not). Thus, it is possible that you might find lava rock that is perfectly safe. It is likewise possible that you will find lava that will kill off everything, very rapidly. But I don't see a reason why a lava rock couldn't be safe for a while (i.e. while the outside is breaking down there are no toxins), and then become deadly (i.e. after disolving a bit it reaches some pocket of disolvable metals). I have used a couple of peices of lava rock before in another tank without any adverse side effects. .....And for future reference I don't think this was a terrible place to post this thread, as this is a topic that is going to rely more on experaince than some text book answer (or common experiance such as "what will play host to my clown") -others might disagree with me here-. Link to comment
chufa Posted September 20, 2002 Author Share Posted September 20, 2002 I'll keep my fingers crossed. Anyway, I use a small dose of prime when preparing my saltwater. I figure that if there are metal ions the prime may chelate them. BTW, for those joining us now I accidentally posted this in the advanced topics forum, hence my comments before. Now we have moved;) Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 I have an active volcano in my 30 gal now . yeah its ok, TUFA rock is best, but some types of lava rock are ok. Is yers Redish in color? Link to comment
chufa Posted September 21, 2002 Author Share Posted September 21, 2002 yes, its brick-red. Pics can be found in this thread. It is the big rock on the right. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...=&threadid=4002 Link to comment
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