Please Help!

[sostoudt]

what kind of stuff? can you give a link to the discussion?
i've used it for years and learned about it from a guy whos been using it for over 50 years, he says, and swears by it. it is the bio for my reef and is covered in uncrusting dusters and sponges, i also use it to make live rock that turns out great.
i would imagine if it was new, geologically speaking, it would be filled with nasty stuff but as far as i know it is nurtral.
i would like to read up about it if there are negatives though,
thanks

i dont have link its just general information on reef forums, but you know a guy thats had saltwater tanks for 50 years that impressive

it varies based of collection point, but the main reason is lava rock tends to contain iron, which can contribute to algae problems. it may contain copper, and other metals in general. you go to such pains to use RO water it would be a bad idea to risk it on a rock that can leech compounds out, this part is much more important to reef or inverts.

edit: btw i suppose this could be one those things were it will work out well unless your a unlucky one to get some bad rock, ive seen multiple types of lava rock maybe theres a correct type and wrong type.

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

yeah, the guys crazy, in a good way. he claims to be the first discus breeder in oregon too, which i believe.
i agree that it is probably a geographic or type thing if there are serious problems with it. i use red cinder, the very porous stuff, i've collected it myself and bought it from landscapers. it would be interesting to soak it in vinegar and test to see what leeches out.
maybe i'll try it. want to hear about results?

 

[~ocean]

sure, go ahead with the experiments... but your tank may have to be restarted...

~ocean

 

[sostoudt]

yeah, the guys crazy, in a good way. he claims to be the first discus breeder in oregon too, which i believe.
i agree that it is probably a geographic or type thing if there are serious problems with it. i use red cinder, the very porous stuff, i've collected it myself and bought it from landscapers. it would be interesting to soak it in vinegar and test to see what leeches out.
maybe i'll try it. want to hear about results?

sure, but can you get a fresh specimen or unused to test, as alot of stuff more stuff has probably grown on the stuff in your tank.

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

well ocean, my tank has been running for two years with cinder and i've never had a problem. we got the cinder for my friends tank from the same source and now he's using live aragonite sand so we'll see how it goes.
for the test i'm using cinder out of my sump, and fresh, i'm also using some fresh cinder dust becuase it would be easy to see it dissolve, if it does.

 

[TheCanuck]

LAVA ROCK SHOULD BE BANNED , that stuff is terrible and should never be used for sw , even fw , that stuff eventually will fall apart anyways , it doesnt even do anything for filtration , it looks pourous but it actually isnt , my left butt check chillin in my sump could collect more of a bio load

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

the canuck, can you back that up with any info? i would like to read up about it but i'm not about to revamp my sump to fit some guys butt cheeck(funny cause bio depends on surface area into it on hearsay. some links would be nice.
mines been in use for 2 years and i still need a hammer to break it. and how can it not be porous if it looks porous?
ok, maybe we have a problem, different parts of the country refer to different things as lava rock or cinder. this is what i use.