Which Lava Rock to use?

S

Sumpin'fishy

Humble Disciple of Jesus Christ
Oct 16, 2002
673
0
0
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Savannah, GA
I went into Home Depot today and was looking for lava rock. I found two different types in different areas. There was one type in the grill section used just like charcoal. It wasn't very attractive looking though. It looks burnt and very coal-like, very dusty too! The second type was in the gardening dept. It was a uniform redish or brick colored. it was pretty attractive, but I was wondering whether it had been colored or "painted" in some way. It was called something like "Red Volcanic Rock".

Which of these are safe to rinse and then add to an aquarium. Is there anything that I need to be careful of (chemicals, leaching, residue, etc.?) Also any opinions on which one works or looks best would be appreciated.
 
The same lava rock that is used for aquariums is also used in gardening and ponds. It is some times called red volcanic rock. I would go with the red lava rock. As far as I know this red (brick color) is natural, it is the only color I have ever seen. As far as it's treatment to make it safe, I do not know what Home Depot does to their lava rock but I would assume it is nothing different than what the LFS does. So I would say simply give it a good scrub under running water and boil it for a bit and you should have no problems. This is what I have done when I used lava rock in my tanks and had no problems. As far as I know it is inert.
 
I'm feeling the same way you do. I didn't like the look of the charcoal type of lava rock, although I don't know if there is any problem with using it either. I like the uniform brick (redish) color to the garden variety and just wanted to get some feedback before I bought a bag....which is dirt cheap! Thanks GFF. Any other insight out there?
 
You're probably gonna want to sterilize the rock by boiling it first. That lava rock has all sorts of little holes that nasties like bacteria and othe organisms can live in. Also it'll give you a chance to pick out the floaters and dust. Belive it or not many times that rock is very pumice-like, and it floats!
 
Yea, I would definately boil and rinse first! I also looked at some Featherrock today and they were awesome looking Large boulders that looked like they weighed 30 to 50 lbs each, but they were maybe 5 lbs each. I ended up talking to the garden section guy and he said that they usually float, so I decided against these! Too bad, they looked like smooth boulders from a few feet away. You couldn't see the small holes that perforate them until you got up close. I'm sure if you could get a few to stay down they would grow algae and cover most of these small holes visually.
 
i use the red lave rock i soaked it inwater for a few days and before i added it to my tank i put it in vinagar to make sure there wan'nt any thing spewing out of it checking for medals or lime if it doesn't spew add it to your tank
 
holy old thread batman...
 
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