Can you light dead coral on fire?

[SaltyPotato]

I know boiling coral is a massive NO NO as it can kill you/others.

Has anyone ever burned it outside either in a fire pit or with a blow torch though? Would it still potentially release the same dangerous toxins? Or no because it is dry/dead with no water/steam?

I am wondering if achieving a burnt or black coral look is possible..

 

[Ron Reefman]

Black spray paint

 

[KrisReef]

I know boiling coral is a massive NO NO as it can kill you/others.

Has anyone ever burned it outside either in a fire pit or with a blow torch though? Would it still potentially release the same dangerous toxins? Or no because it is dry/dead with no water/steam?

I am wondering if achieving a burnt or black coral look is possible..

The base coral rock is greyish white, kind of like bone. I don't think you could burn it and end up with black ash unless there was soot on it. The soot would come off in water.
Is it possible?
Take it to a jeweler and have them add black sapphire pave stones. That would get the black-fire look and you would have the most expensive dead coral reef on the planet.

 

[SaltyPotato]

The base coral rock is greyish white, kind of like bone. I don't think you could burn it and end up with black ash unless there was soot on it. The soot would come off in water.
Is it possible?
Take it to a jeweler and have them add black sapphire pave stones. That would get the black-fire look and you would have the most expensive dead coral reef on the planet.

yeah.. Kyrlon fusion and cure for 7 days it is haha

 

[ReefBeta]

Are you talking about stony corals? I never heard about them can't be boiled. The only one that dangerous is palys, because of the palytoxin.

 

[Tired]

A dead coral skeleton should technically be safe to boil, but may have bacterias, trace toxins, or trapped water pockets, so it's not the best plan to boil.

It's not going to turn black from being boiled or burned, though. A coral skeleton is pretty much just a limestone rock, there's nothing in it to burn. If you want a burnt look, you'd have to do something like burn wood on top of it to get wood ash on it. Or just paint it. I don't think that would last in water, though.

If you want black coral skeletons in your aquarium, try lava rock (for an aquarium source, not landscaping!) instead. It won't stay black forever, stuff will grow over it, but it might look neat at first. Less porous than reef rock, though.

 

[ZoWhat]

Get a socially distancing FLAMETHROWER

But seriously.... I bought a propane torch from Homedepot that you normally solder copper waterline pipes with.

I had a LR the size of a volleyball loaded with green ugly palys. Nothing could get rid if them, nothing...even soaking the LR in a bucket of vinegar

While outside, with mask and protective Eyewear on.... I put the LR on top on a ladder and melted the palys off the LR the torch. Nothing like using 3600° Fahrenheit as a solution!

I was super careful where the fumes were going....and they where going straight up away from me.

I torched the living heck out of this LR....to the point the rock was glowing red.

I never had one issue dealing with the palytoxin inside these pslys I melted off. BUT I used common sense of where the airflow was at and where the melted fumes were going.

Super cautious. I even used a boxfan to keep airflow blowing straight up away from me.

I do not recommend doing this unless you have a superior sense of common-sense

.

 

[SaltyPotato]

Get a socially distancing FLAMETHROWER

But seriously.... I bought a butane torch from Homedepot that you normally solder copper waterline pipes with.

I had a LR the size of a volleyball loaded with green ugly palys.

While outside, with mask and protective Eyewear on.... I put the LR on top on a ladder and melted the palys off the LR.

I was super careful where the fumes were going....and they where going straight up away from me.

I torched the living heck out of this LR....to the point the rock was glowing red.

I never had one issue dealing with the palytoxin inside these pslys I melted off. BUT I used common sense of where the airflow was at and where the melted fumes were going. Super cautious.


.

What was the color like post burn? And did it change after it was in water for some time? That’s a cool experience

 

[vetteguy53081]

Black resin epoxy

 

[ZoWhat]

What was the color like post burn? And did it change after it was in water for some time? That’s a cool experience

Well, it was a LR.... a rock and not a calcium carbonate skeleton.

So even though the LR was glowing red from the heat, it just returned to looking like a rock.

I sure using a coral skeleton would render much different results. Im sure it wouldn't take much torching to burn the crap out of it.

.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Black resin epoxy

That's a great idea but what type is reef safe?

 

[ReefBeta]

If you torch the skeleton, the burn smoke of the fire might leave on the skeleton and render it black. I think it depends on the burning condition. If burning is less perfect it's more likely to generate smoke.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That's a great idea but what type is reef safe?

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[KrisReef]

A dead coral skeleton should technically be safe to boil, but may have bacterias, trace toxins, or trapped water pockets, so it's not the best plan to boil.

It's not going to turn black from being boiled or burned, though. A coral skeleton is pretty much just a limestone rock, there's nothing in it to burn. If you want a burnt look, you'd have to do something like burn wood on top of it to get wood ash on it. Or just paint it. I don't think that would last in water, though.

If you want black coral skeletons in your aquarium, try lava rock (for an aquarium source, not landscaping!) instead. It won't stay black forever, stuff will grow over it, but it might look neat at first. Less porous than reef rock, though.

Caution with using lava (black sand from Hawaii, etc.) : Lava has the potential to contain inclusions of metal and elements that may be harmful to sea life as those inclusions may dissolve into the tank.

Other (pretty colors) landscape rocks have a similar potential in our tanks when immersed in seawater.

 

[Tired]

Right, that's why I said to get ones for aquarium use. There are places that sell lava rock specifically to put in aquaria.

 

[gray808]

I know that with campfires, you want to avoid using limestone as a fire ring: the rocks tend to explode/pop when they get hot. It wouldn't surprise me if coral has similar behavior.

--Gray

 

[SaltyPotato]

I’m assuming this is just standard coral skeleton?

 

[SaltISlife]

burning anything with fire will release toxins. I one time had a friend burn a massive pile of poison ivy before, and guess what happened.. he has the oils release into the air and get into his lungs and throat.

 

[Tired]

Yep, that's just a coral skeleton.

And burning anything that contains toxins will release toxins. If there are no toxins in it, there are none to be released. Very much don't burn poison ivy, though, that can kill you.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Caution with using lava (black sand from Hawaii, etc.) : Lava has the potential to contain inclusions of metal and elements that may be harmful to sea life as those inclusions may dissolve into the tank.

Other (pretty colors) landscape rocks have a similar potential in our tanks when immersed in seawater.

I wish I would have come up with the idea of picking up a rock and charging $5 a lb. to say it's reef safer than one you can pick up off the ground yourself. 100% of my live rock is black lava rock sourced from a landscape supply company. After 5 years, I have no regrets.