LAVA ROCK in reef tank?

Islandvib3s · Apr 30, 2021

has anyone used lava rocks/boulders in there reef tanks? live rock is hard to come by without alot of bad hitchhikers and i know lava rock is natural and porous its also really cheap and lighter then most live rocks. thanks in advance

jorwill · Apr 30, 2021

lava rock has metals in it, i wouldnt chance it.

CMMorgan · Apr 30, 2021

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

Islandvib3s · Apr 30, 2021

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

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

dhnguyen · Apr 30, 2021

very high iron content as well as sky high phosphate. I would not use it in a reef tank.

dhnguyen · Apr 30, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
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

Yes but in small doses, not so good in large quantity. Lava rock is loaded with iron and other metals

GlassMunky · Apr 30, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
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

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.

CMMorgan · Apr 30, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
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

Iron is beneficial as a trace element, not a major element. Trace is the key word there .... itty bitty bits.

Islandvib3s · May 1, 2021

Lol so I ended up buying dry rock,2 clowns,3chromis..2 rose nems tomorrow. Dry rock is in a bucket getting seeded atm lol yay

Jekyl · May 1, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
Lol so I ended up buying dry rock,2 clowns,3chromis..2 rose nems tomorrow. Dry rock is in a bucket getting seeded atm lol yay

You can't add all of those at the same time. The dry rock needs to cycle before adding fish. Anemone should be in a tank at least 9 months old.

Tamberav · May 1, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
Lol so I ended up buying dry rock,2 clowns,3chromis..2 rose nems tomorrow. Dry rock is in a bucket getting seeded atm lol yay

This may end badly if you plan to add that to dry rock after a day.

alpha199 · May 1, 2021

Ok, so I'm only going to address the lava rock concern as my cohorts have already addressed the other elephant in the room. I bought a lava rock from my LFS (which is hardly local as Anchorage is an hour way) and it had a bunch of zoas, a mushroom, and a good amount of Mexican Fern Macro on it. So far the rock has been in my tank for close to a month and I have had zero issues and everything in the tank is growing (some are growing too much). So I would say that lava rock is safe depending on where you are getting it and if it is cycled already.

kutcha · May 1, 2021

as stated above do not just throw dry rock in a tank and think it is cycled you will end up killing those fish and especially that nem

NoahLikesFish · May 2, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
has anyone used lava rocks/boulders in there reef tanks? live rock is hard to come by without alot of bad hitchhikers and i know lava rock is natural and porous its also really cheap and lighter then most live rocks. thanks in advance

Live rock dosent have bad stuff nowadays because the supply lines are so bad. Also all those Polycheates and other inverts are extremely beneficial and the thing is. There wouldn’t be reefing without stinky purple live rock.

monkeyCmonkeyDo · May 2, 2021

Lava rock will leach and effect ur ph and alkalinity over time. Please dont add fish to a saltwater marine aquarium for 2-3weeks please if your new. Your tank will cycle and you will see amnonia spikes and your fish will exp it.
D

NoahLikesFish · May 2, 2021

Just curious could u use lava rock under live rock to just boost filtration and make microfauna hides.?

monkeyCmonkeyDo · May 2, 2021

Degrading calcium and alk blocks were popular probably 10-15yrs ago.
D

reefinatl · May 2, 2021

Islandvib3s said:
has anyone used lava rocks/boulders in there reef tanks? live rock is hard to come by without alot of bad hitchhikers and i know lava rock is natural and porous its also really cheap and lighter then most live rocks. thanks in advance

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.