Use Of Volcanic Rock In Our Tanks ?

[427HISS]

We used "volcanic live sand" from Hawaii in our 29g cube. It was cycled in 3-4 days.
I've never heard of anyone using volcanic rock, as their rockscape and later to build as live bacteria rock like we use from reefs. I've used it as bacteria media in ponds for many years with great success.
It's very light weight and very,... porous to promote deep imbedded bacteria.

So, if we use the ocean volcanic sand, why not the rock in fish only or reef tanks ?

 

[ReeferReefer]

I have some basalt in my tank. It is fine. I think that you will find with most volcanic rocks, they are not as porous as their limestone counterparts. In general though, you should be fine.

 

[KrisReef]

I have heard that volcanic rock may contain minerals and/or metals that might leach into the tanks and cause issues. Aragonite coral skeleton rock generally will not contain these same volcanic rock minerals.

I have used volcanic rock in freshwater tanks without problems, so who knows? Lets see what the R2R geologist have to say!

 

[ReeferReefer]

I have heard that volcanic rock may contain minerals and/or metals that might leach into the tanks and cause issues. Aragonite coral skeleton rock generally will not contain these same volcanic rock minerals.

I have used volcanic rock in freshwater tanks without problems, so who knows? Lets see what the R2R geologist have to say!

Not to toot my own horn but I am a Geologist by profession and have a MS in Geoscience.

Volcanic rock is highly variable and does not have a uniform composition. Much like sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks are grouped by how they are formed and not by their chemical composition.

The black hawaiian sand you have in your tank is broken down basalt rock (which makes up about 90% of all volcanic rocks). Even within the single rock type of basalt, chemistry can be highly variable based on the magma body (and when it came out of that magma body) it came from.

The vast majority of most basalts will be composed of SiO2, one of the most stable compounds found in nature. FeO, TiO, Al2O3, CaO and MgO are commonly present in notable amounts as well.

Basalt can take many textural and morphological forms as well. Vesicular basalt would be best for aquarium applications as there are many small holes in from air bubbles, giving it a large surface area. It should be noted the scroria (also known as cinder), a highly vesicular volcanic rock is often commonly called "pond rock" and is used in freshwater ponds due to the high surface area it provides.


I see no geological or chemical reason that vesicular volcanic rocks can not be used in marine applications. I will say that I would cure any dry rock for a few months to let any soluble contaminates to be pulled out. You could always run a bag of carbon with the curing rock if metals are a concern to you.

 

[427HISS]

Like this ,...

"As lava hardens, a revelation bubbles up"

https://phys.org/news/2017-03-lava-hardens-revelation.html

Expensive !

https://www.homedepot.com/p/America...bUsyS2i5U8ob696HbExoCJVoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Not to toot my own horn but I am a Geologist by profession and have a MS in Geoscience.

Volcanic rock is highly variable and does not have a uniform composition. Much like sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks are grouped by how they are formed and not by their chemical composition.

The black hawaiian sand you have in your tank is broken down basalt rock (which makes up about 90% of all volcanic rocks). Even within the single rock type of basalt, chemistry can be highly variable based on the magma body (and when it came out of that magma body) it came from.

The vast majority of most basalts will be composed of SiO2, one of the most stable compounds found in nature. FeO, TiO, Al2O3, CaO and MgO are commonly present in notable amounts as well.

Basalt can take many textural and morphological forms as well. Vesicular basalt would be best for aquarium applications as there are many small holes in from air bubbles, giving it a large surface area. It should be noted the scroria (also known as cinder), a highly vesicular volcanic rock is often commonly called "pond rock" and is used in freshwater ponds due to the high surface area it provides.


I see no geological or chemical reason that vesicular volcanic rocks can not be used in marine applications. I will say that I would cure any dry rock for a few months to let any soluble contaminates to be pulled out. You could always run a bag of carbon with the curing rock if metals are a concern to you.

Cool.

But
Why does it say it’s aragonite then?

 

[VR28man]

I've read a few other threads about black sand. Two takeaways from my recollection of those threads, relevant to this thread:

1. Real volcanic rock can leach different chemicals, depending on its composition, which @ReeferReefer sort of implies. Even black volcanic rock like you see in, for instance, the oceans of the Hawaiian Islands can have weird compositions when first formed. (but if a piece of rock has been in the ocean for several decades one assumes all that can leach out has already done so). If one wanted to use volcanic rock, I would cure it for a few months, change the water, and do an ICP test if there's the slightest doubt about its composition

2. "black Hawaiian sand" is not necessarily from Hawaii. In fact, given the laws in Hawaii, that I've never seen a sand collection operation IVO the Big Island's relatively few black sand beaches, that those beaches don't have sand of such tiny granularity as you see from Caribsea, and that that I've never seen a suitable spoil storage area on said Island, I'm fairly confident "Hawaiian" is a marketing term. I assume the sand is collected elsewhere.

Some black sand sold by various vendors for aquarium use has metallic elements (take a magnet to it and see); I assume that's actually volcanic sand. However, as @saltyfilmfolks notes, at least some black sand advertises itself as aragonite; in this case I might guess it's just regular coral sand dyed black.


Practical thoughts:
You do not need porous coral rock (i.e. typical rock in the aquarium trade) to form a nitrifying and denitrifying biofilter. These days there are several artificial materials you can use. The ones I have experience with are marinepure (which I believe leaches Al, at least in many cases that have been documented in various internet fora. IME, and in the experiences of others, getting it to denitrify can also be tricky) and Seachem Matrix (works quite well: small, can easily be tucked away in a bag or a fuge, very porous; only when I started using matrix did I observe denitrification).

Therefore, you can use these materials in a sump, in a canister filter, or in a corner, as the biofilter. And the rest of the tank can be whatever you want. Coral rock is good because it's a common natural material in a patch reef or reef crest. But at the same time, other reef designs -e.g. a predominantly sandy or sea grass areas, possibly with a few rock out croppings (of any kind of rock that won't leech phosphate, nitrates, or chemicals in salt water) is also possible.

Similar would apply with volcanic rock: you could put it in your tank as your (presumably biotope aquarium) aesthetic tastes desire, and use matrix for biofiltration.

That being said, IME there are only a small number of coral reefs that you'd want to build a biotope aquarium for using a large amount of black volcanic rock. This is because most reefs with abundant coral growth have a large amount of coral growth (and dead coral rock) covering the underlying lava rock. The most appropriate way to use it, IMO, would be to have a "shore"section made of volcanic rock, covered with a few corals, maybe with mangroves on top, even potentially popping out of the aquarium. The rest of the rock could being coral rock.

A few potential biotope tanks, based on my observations:

Punalu’u Black Sand beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is, as it implies, a beach. The tank would be a coral black sandbed, with a few pieces of rock jutting out, and lots of wave like current. The only corals here are Pocilloporas. IIRC there are decent sized schools of tangs here, though not as abundant as elsewhere. (and lots of turtles)

Sharks Cove on the North Shore of Oahu. A tank replicating this would have regular aragonite sand, as well as black lava rock boulders. Again, the area has substantial lava rock visible because coral coverage is fairly low, IMO because of the great amount of wave action this place gets. A few Pocillopora frags would be appropriate here, as well as other frags that can take high flow (the real life coral simulating this area would be a few Porites lobata or lutea, but though they are probably the most abundant corals in nature they're very hard to find in the hobby). The area has large sized schools of different tangs, IIRC, as well as lots of caves and swim-throughs.

Finally, choosing black sand is IMO for personal aesthetic reasons; I'm not aware of very many actual patch reef or reef slopes with lots of corals that have abundant amounts of black sand.

 

[ReeferReefer]

Cool.

But
Why does it say it’s aragonite then?

My guess it's not really Hawaiian. Black sand in Hawaii is broken down basalt.

 

[427HISS]

VR,...

your video "In memory of Kapoho Tide Pools: "

is both stunning and very sad, almost cried.... It's mother nature at her worst, for coral reefs anyway.
This video is a keeper, thank you !

 

[VR28man]

VR,...

your video "In memory of Kapoho Tide Pools: "

is both stunning and very sad, almost cried.... It's mother nature at her worst, for coral reefs anyway.
This video is a keeper, thank you !

You’re welcome! It’s strange and sad to think I’ll never see it again. But again, it was created in 1960 by the same volcano.

Also, there are new tide pools that have been formed by the latest eruption. Even if nobody does anything, in 30 years or so there’ll be a good coral population there again. (Until the next eruption........)

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My guess it's not really Hawaiian. Black sand in Hawaii is broken down basalt.

I’m told it’s reefs close to isle and absorbs the iron

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

We used "volcanic live sand" from Hawaii in our 29g cube. It was cycled in 3-4 days.
I've never heard of anyone using volcanic rock, as their rockscape and later to build as live bacteria rock like we use from reefs. I've used it as bacteria media in ponds for many years with great success.
It's very light weight and very,... porous to promote deep imbedded bacteria.

So, if we use the ocean volcanic sand, why not the rock in fish only or reef tanks ?

How did it go? as I've just used volcanic rock and everyone has been alerting me about potential leaching

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Interesting conversation

 

[Storm]

How did it go? as I've just used volcanic rock and everyone has been alerting me about potential leaching

2 years later, but I’m about to put lava rock in my 40 gallon tank and am curious if it all worked out for you!

 

[VR28man]

Funny, I just saw @Tigahboy 's speech - and among the macroalgae tanks he documents freshwater-planted-tank-turned-saltwater-macro keeper used lava rock, since it's apparently somewhat common in planted tanks (as admittedly mentioned above). A bit of googling seemed to confirm this.

So it would seem to me that any lava rock suitable for freshwater would also be suitable for saltwater. Also, many of these rocks seem fairly pourous, and if so it would (eventually) make excellent live rock.

(as an aside, it's great that people are doing more than fish and reef tanks, and hopefully macro tanks are also starting to get traction)

 

[Reefahholic]

Not to toot my own horn but I am a Geologist by profession and have a MS in Geoscience.

Volcanic rock is highly variable and does not have a uniform composition. Much like sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks are grouped by how they are formed and not by their chemical composition.

The black hawaiian sand you have in your tank is broken down basalt rock (which makes up about 90% of all volcanic rocks). Even within the single rock type of basalt, chemistry can be highly variable based on the magma body (and when it came out of that magma body) it came from.

The vast majority of most basalts will be composed of SiO2, one of the most stable compounds found in nature. FeO, TiO, Al2O3, CaO and MgO are commonly present in notable amounts as well.

Basalt can take many textural and morphological forms as well. Vesicular basalt would be best for aquarium applications as there are many small holes in from air bubbles, giving it a large surface area. It should be noted the scroria (also known as cinder), a highly vesicular volcanic rock is often commonly called "pond rock" and is used in freshwater ponds due to the high surface area it provides.


I see no geological or chemical reason that vesicular volcanic rocks can not be used in marine applications. I will say that I would cure any dry rock for a few months to let any soluble contaminates to be pulled out. You could always run a bag of carbon with the curing rock if metals are a concern to you.

Appreciate your expertise! I have Basalt in my tank form using AF Life Source mud. I find it to be beneficial with no I’ll effects. However, there have been reports of it causing issues with pumps due to its magnetic properties. I haven’t experienced any issues at all yet.

Check out this live stream where they take a deep dive into basalt. It’s very interesting stream:

Go to 7:47

Aquaforest Tank Talk: Exploring AF Life Source Feb. 17 2022

On our live stream today, we'll be exploring what is Aquaforest Life Source, what's inside of it, and address some of the recent questions about its use. Ple...

www.youtube.com

 

[Reefahholic]

AF Life Source under the microscope at low magnification with Basalt.

 

[jabberwock]

How to increase complexity and complexity with complexity and complexity. Let's throw geology, geothermal, geochemistry, plate tectonics and the entire ocean into the equation that is a reef aquarium.

Good luck with that...

 

[BigIslswlove]

Ahhh the tide pools, I raised my kids there. I live 15 min away. Miss the pools. Was a tragic loss, the day it was taken, I was out there rescuing animals