was told by an employee of a LFS that he successfully used, and still uses, Lava-Rocks (like you use for gas grills) in place of balls in his wet/dry filter. Has anyone seen this done? Or have any input?
Thanks, Rich
Thanks, Rich
Alternative to Bio-balls
- Thread starter richm20
- Start date
That would be the way to do it. Bio-balls are just going to keep your nitrates high.wastememphis said:
I'm not to sure about lava rocks. I have herd NO from alot of people about them, though I have never use them before.
Live rock does biological filtration, thats why you see FO tanks at LFS's use bioballs (which also does biofiltration) when they dont use live rock in their tanks. But, I would just use live rock in your tank and have more in the sump if you can.
It depends on what kind of lava rock. For example the red volcanic rock you see for sale in pet stores is not real lava rock, its a byproduct of ore smelting and is inert.
"Live Rock" is a term for rocks that are biologically active, the bacteria that process waste products like ammonia dont need light, as do some other hitchhikers. If it has Anemones or some types of algae attached to it, or some corals then it may need stronger light. The answer of if Live Rock needs light or not depends on whats living on the rock.