LAVA ROCK in reef tank?

[Ricksreeefs]

That looks amazing!!

 

[reefinatl]

I love all the posts saying you can't use lava rock in a reef tank. 100% of my rock is black lava rock, from a landscape supply.

3 years later, and I've been able to keep every fish and coral I've tried.

Holy batman a picture from 2021 where it doesn't look like glowing twigs inside a blue jello block. Nice setup good to see some real growth.

 

[Islandvib3s]

I love all the posts saying you can't use lava rock in a reef tank. 100% of my rock is black lava rock, from a landscape supply.

3 years later, and I've been able to keep every fish and coral I've tried.

Yea I read up and googled it and read you build. Pretty freaking cool! I will be trying it in the future forsure!

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Holy batman a picture from 2021 where it doesn't look like glowing twigs inside a blue jello block. Nice setup good to see some real growth.

I invested the $20 for some blue light camera filters.

 

[StPatrick89]

There is a high iron content in lava rock. It makes it great for landscaping but not so much for salt water tanks.

Thanks for this answer

 

[drjreber]

difference between a tank and the ocean is about 1 BILLION gallons, lol

in a small reef tank, those metals can build up to toxic levels pretty quickly.

Theres tons of dry rock available everywhere thats really cheap and doesnt have the same associated risks.

Just want to jump into this old post to ask, where are the “tons of dry rock everywhere that’s really cheap…?” The really cheap part is not in my world and wondering where to find it, lol!!

 

[Midrats]

You would have been scared ________ back in the Nineties, all anyone used was live rock. Don't fear the live rock!

 

[Jekyl]

Just want to jump into this old post to ask, where are the “tons of dry rock everywhere that’s really cheap…?” The really cheap part is not in my world and wondering where to find it, lol!!

I got mine from Amazon. Don't waste money on the painted stuff. If going dry, just find the cheapest stuff there is.

 

[Bobby H]

Define bad hitchhikers. I'd argue the old Fiji stuff was better because of porosity but the gulf aquacultured stuff from glr, tblr and the rest is less likely to have serious pests. Gulf mantis are babies, the aiptasia we dread aren't native to the gulf, etc.

Fiji rock was the cats but 30 yes ago. You could get all sorts of hitchhikers really rare stuff to glass shattering shrimp to corals ...buyer b ware...

 

[Barncat]

Just want to jump into this old post to ask, where are the “tons of dry rock everywhere that’s really cheap…?” The really cheap part is not in my world and wondering where to find it, lol!!

Agreed, the whole reason I'm looking at this thread is because dry rock is so expensive lol. (And because I wanna try a black lava rock tank one day and now I know I can.)

 

[sfin52]

did a little research and it says iron helps maintain proper PH levels."Iron is beneficial to all photosynthetic invertebrates and plants, as it improves growth, coloring and expansion" i mean thats what islands are made of... ill do more research lol

It also had other metals in it. If you want to have fish and no coral or inverts you can try it.

I'm not sure what the other metals will do to fish.

@SashimiTurtle had black sand that was leaching metals and causing all kinds of problems. Lava rock will do the same thing

 

[sfin52]

This issue was resolved long ago by electron microscope. It determined that the sand did in fact have large amounts of nickel included and some trace amounts of vanadium. Most of the vanadium had already dissolved into the water column when testing took place.

If you want to read about it here you go

 

[SashimiTurtle]

It also had other metals in it. If you want to have fish and no coral or inverts you can try it.

I'm not sure what the other metals will do to fish.

@SashimiTurtle had black sand that was leaching metals and causing all kinds of problems. Lava rock will do the same thing

That nightmare tank... ugh. Mysterious fish deaths, an eel, corals that I had kept successful just not wanting to live at all... the H2O2 dose to treat a little hair algae that COMPLETELY melted every single zoa in the tank overnight. No trace at all, none. Six plus months of problems, crazy high vanadium(2000+ppm), tin, molybdenum, nickel, ect...

The only way we figured out it was the Tahiti black sand, was dragging a magnet thru it looking for a screw or piece of metal, only to find the sand stuck to the magnet. Sent a sample off to @Brew12 after he graciously offered to have it put under an electron microscope. Confirmed the sand did have the metals that were being dissolved into my water. We ALSO tested Hawaiian black sand, and while it didnt have the large vanadium and nickel in it, it was full of iron.

Moral of the story, aragonite or bare bottom. Black sand isnt safe in a closed system.

 

[sfin52]

That nightmare tank... ugh. Mysterious fish deaths, an eel, corals that I had kept successful just not wanting to live at all... the H2O2 dose to treat a little hair algae that COMPLETELY melted every single zoa in the tank overnight. No trace at all, none. Six plus months of problems, crazy high vanadium(2000+ppm), tin, molybdenum, nickel, ect...

The only way we figured out it was the Tahiti black sand, was dragging a magnet thru it looking for a screw or piece of metal, only to find the sand stuck to the magnet. Sent a sample off to @Brew12 after he graciously offered to have it put under an electron microscope. Confirmed the sand did have the metals that were being dissolved into my water. We ALSO tested Hawaiian black sand, and while it didnt have the large vanadium and nickel in it, it was full of iron.

Moral of the story, aragonite or bare bottom. Black sand isnt safe in a closed system.

I remember that very well. Sorry to bring that back up

 

[Naekuh]

I still don't think i could trust lava rock in a reef tank because all lava rock is not the same.
Also i don't think any one can tell me what the rock is made up of, without crushing it and send it off to test.

But if it works, its works and everyone except the OG Orthodox reefers are happy.

Id still get the ICP test once in a while to see if anything is leeching from the rock.
You have too much in live stock not to.

But beautiful tank...

 

[Baby Damsel 219]

Highly recommend Reef Live Rock. Great at fragging corals. It is a good source of great filtration and helps little critters hide in the nooks and crannies to feel safe.