Question on some old rock

[superclouds]

When I was kid (20yrs ago) my uncle had a saltwater tank. I remember he soft corals, some SPS, sea horses, and assorted fish. Last night I was out on the town and I stopped over at my Aunt's house (uncle is in a home with huntington's corea) and see this pile of rocks on the porch. So I inquired my Aunt who said that those were the rocks from his tank and and wanted to know if I wanted them. I also got a nice large tonga branch that she had been using to decorate her garden.

My question is that most of it is Lava Rock and being that it had been in a tank prevousily would it be ok to use? And how do I about cleaning up the branch and possibly this lava rock to put it safely in my tank?

[aquaboy]

I dont think lava rock is safe for saltwater aquariums, am i right? anyone?

[ziggy222]

that lava rock will i repeat will slowly kill all fish in the tank and you'll have hair algae so thick you won't see into your tank.personal experience.took 5 puffers,a cpl clowns damsels all dead before a different store set me straight.some stores use it in their tanks but the fish are sold before they die.

[superclouds]

Thanks, I wont use it then. How do I about adding the tonga branch into my tank? It's been a decoration in a garden and I pulled it out of a foot of snow?

[aquaboy]

wash it off, bleach it, and let it soak in some fresh water for a day (to let bleach seep out). Then send it in to the tank.

[djnzlab1]

HI,
pretty sure there's two types of LAVA rock some are sold in petstores are pretty inert.
I have two huge chunks in my saltwater for over a year and one is completly coverd with coral, my guess is its not toxic to coral.
The only real concern with your old rock is have they been treated with any copper based meds, if your unlce is gone it maynot be worth the risk.
My base rock is so cheap locally its white old clean coral rock its green in a month and is coverd with coraline in a few weeks as is my lava rocks.
Doug
this is an old pic the lava rock on the left is now covered with softcoral , the base rock behind the fake coral was white when purchased and is now pretty live with coraline and bacteria. 1.20 a pound and is loaded with calcium.




PS
did some research ,there are lava rock thats sold at some hardware stores thats from the process of making steel or iron products ,the types sold in fish stores is more inert made with water safe material.
better safe than sorry.
most of the base rock around here is limestone grade coral rock its white its pretty soft and has lots of those coral skeletons you can see the shapes of the old coral. its very rich in calcium carbonate, if you rub it it looks like that argonite milk stuff.
I have to hunt for petstores that carry it only two do here they are a franchise (all-pet) ask if they can order you some base rock...they have a web allpetinc.com - your pet's online best friend! whoops looks like a local chain

[aquaboy]

I cant see pic :*(

[superclouds]

If it were true that it could be safe, I remember my uncle had alot things that I wouldn't keep like the sea horses how could I find out safely? Could i through it in a 10g tank I have thats been running a while with nothing but sand in it and do some tests? If so what tests?

My options for base rock are basically getting it online and what I've been able to find hasn't been that cheap. I thought about making my own and have 1/2 a bag of argonate laying around. (its in first pic)

[djnzlab1]

HI,
found this with google.
never bought any though.


Oceanpro Aquatics - Online Store: Fiji Ultra Premium Live Rock (per pound)

doug

[ziggy222]

some lava rock has low enough minerals to not hurt the tank.problem is that in order to be sure you have to test it and thats more work than its worth.most lava rock comes to the stores in carboard boxes that have a paper at the top saying not for use in salt water.so i just generalized.yeah premium fiji is almost always the best rock for the money.theres better but you pay for it.half the time you pay more and its still not as good.