# Is lava rock inert?



## GraFFix (Feb 21, 2005)

Nevermind I did some searching and from what I can tell lava rock is indeed inert and safe for freshwater aquariums.

unless others have different experiance with it?


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## Oqsy (Jul 3, 2004)

that's a tricky question. *most* *pumice* is inert. however, "tufa" rock can sometimes be pumice, but sometimes it is a manmade material that is calcium carbonate rich, and will wreak havoc with gh and kh. it is often labeled "lava rock", even though the natural igneous process has nothing to do with its origin. the best way to find out for sure is to use a strong acid (HCl, batter acid, muriatic acid, etc) and put a couple of drops on a piece and watch for fizzing, bubbling, etc (any kind of reaction). no reaction = inert; bubbling, fizzing, smoking, or 25 megaton explosion = NOT inert. Dave Soares of "Softwater Dwarf Cichlids" aka "apistodave" on aquabid uses local pumice from pacific northwest volcanoes with no trouble whatsoever, and says that it's completely inert. volcanic rock from other places in the world might not be so kind to your water. best bet is to test first instead of relying on what other ppl tell you.

Oqsy


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## bigpow (May 24, 2004)

they're hard to clean though... 
I wouldn't use them as a substrate, sharp edges will make my fish end with lots of bandages


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## GraFFix (Feb 21, 2005)

No these are bigger peices just for decoration...


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

By lava rock, do you mean the dark reddish stone with lots of small holes in it? I used to have some of that (sold to me as lava rock), and it was just as inert as could be. 

But I also used to have a similar looking rock that was off-white (hmm, that should have been a clue!), and after a few months in my tank it had practically dissolved. I don't really care for stones too much, but just to be safe, I would never use anything that was white with soft-water fish. But what do I know!


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

Oqsy said:


> bubbling, fizzing, smoking, or 25 megaton explosion = NOT inert.


So what you're saying is, I should not use lithium to decorate my tank?


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## Oqsy (Jul 3, 2004)

pretty much what i'm saying


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## GraFFix (Feb 21, 2005)

Canoe2Can said:


> By lava rock, do you mean the dark reddish stone with lots of small holes in it? I used to have some of that (sold to me as lava rock), and it was just as inert as could be.
> 
> But I also used to have a similar looking rock that was off-white (hmm, that should have been a clue!), and after a few months in my tank it had practically dissolved. I don't really care for stones too much, but just to be safe, I would never use anything that was white with soft-water fish. But what do I know!



Well yes and no..my LFS has 2 colors in the same bin. some red some black. the whole thing is marked "lava rock" I was more interested in the black because it will go with my theme im trying to create. but yes it is the black/redish stone with tons of holes in it. so it should be safe then correct?


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## Pharo (Jan 30, 2005)

GraFFix said:


> . so it should be safe then correct?


Just stick it in a bucket of water that you know the ph value. Then test the ph a day or 2 later. If it doesn't go up, you should be ok. 

Later, 

Pharo


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