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Is lava rock safe for use under the substrate?

Zak Rafik

Zak Rafik

Member
Joined
11 Aug 2014
Messages
466
Location
Singapore
Hi everyone,
I'm in midst of setting up my new planted tank and intend to use lava rocks (2 - 3 cm) under the substrate.

The are two main reasons I'm doing this way.
1. To reduce the number of ADA aquasoil I need to buy when creating a slope at the back of the tank and also to give a bit of overall volume to the tank.

2. To avoid using ADA power sand special which is very costly

I still have 3/4 full bottles of ADA Bacter 100 and ADA Clear Super each, left over from my last scape. I intent to lay the lava rock and then apply Bacter 100 and Clear Super on top it. Following this, I intend to have 2 inch / 5 cm of ADA aquasoil.

I'm reading some rather conflicting information on the use of lava rock as a base for a planted tank. Some strongly advocate it for it's ability to create an anaerobic environment inside the rock for beneficial nitrifying bacteria. . That it is an inert stone which does not change water parameter.
And then, there are some that say it can lead to buildup of toxic gas and not really that useful in a planted tank There are even some that say and I quote "Lava rock contains some hard metals that can leak out and be dangerous to your tank".

Now my questions are:
So what is the real picture on this?
Is lava rock as beneficial:thumbup: or not beneficial:thumbdown: or meh:meh: (nothing)
It will be helpful if the fellow members can shed some truth on this matter.

Thankx in advance for sharing your experiences and opinions.
Cheers.

31800416364_5cd5305d94_o.jpgIMG_4880 by Zak Rafik, on Flickr
 
I agree that you can use it under soil to not spend it so much. Its good to put it inside bag in case you would like to remove it after some time when rescaping. Much easier to work with after 🙂


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Cor said:
I've seen that Amano used it in his tanks, so I'll guess it wouldn't harm.
It's good for circulation beneath the soil and it's good for the bacterial development. Much cheaper as powersand do.
Click to expand...
Hi Cor,
Yes I have read that Master Amano uses them but not for use under the substrate.
For the price 1 bag of PowerSand, I can buy 30 kgs of lava rocks.:lol:

MatusG said:
I agree that you can use it under soil to not spend it so much. Its good to put it inside bag in case you would like to remove it after some time when rescaping. Much easier to work with after 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip MatusG. That's what I'm intending to do. In fact I'm already collecting those mesh bags used to pack oranges and use them to stuff the lava rocks. Save some $$ and get healthy at the same time.😀
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
I think it should be fine.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Hi Darrel,🙂
I've bought some 10+ kg from a LFS last week.
Since you're very knowledgeable with chemistry stuff, can you tell me if lava rock contain any sort of beneficial minerals in them.
If red lava rock is formed when the lava stream flows and cools down with the air remains and becomes small holes in the final red lave rock, how is it that this stone is stated as inert.
Shouldn't they contain iron ( as seen by the reddish colour of the stone) and other minerals? I have always been curious about this.
Cheers.

32646537665_c4ecee8965_o.jpgLava rocks by Zak Rafik, on Flickr

32646537445_031737938f_o.jpgLava rocks-2 by Zak Rafik, on Flickr
 
Hi all,
Zak Rafik said:
Since you're very knowledgeable with chemistry stuff, can you tell me if lava rock contain any sort of beneficial minerals in them.
If red lava rock is formed when the lava stream flows and cools down with the air remains and becomes small holes in the final red lave rock, how is it that this stone is stated as inert.
Shouldn't they contain iron ( as seen by the reddish colour of the stone) and other minerals? I have always been curious about this.
Click to expand...
It definitely will contain some available nutrients, how much will depend on the volcano and how vitrified the rock is.

I think these rock are formed from basic basaltic (shield) volcanoes, so are technically are <"Scoria">.

cheers Darrel
 
Zak Rafik said:
I'm in midst of setting up my new planted tank and intend to use lava rocks (2 - 3 cm) under the substrate
Click to expand...
How did you get on with using the lava rocks? I'm looking at it also to bulk out the aqua soil and make it a little more sturdy - a little like powersand.

Nelson said:
Just the same as JBL Volcano mineral.
George uses it a lot now
Click to expand...
If you're one of the people that intends to reuse their aquasoil then don't use this stuff as you will never separate it from the soil; there are lots of very small pieces in the JBL volcano mineral.
 
paul_j said:
I used pantyhose 🙂
Click to expand...

Good of you to share Paul, must be liberating. What about the volcanic rock though 😉😀
 
Zak Rafik said:
Now my questions are:
So what is the real picture on this?
Is lava rock as beneficial:thumbup: or not beneficial:thumbdown: or meh:meh: (nothing)
Click to expand...
The real picture is this:
Lava stones/gravel is no big deal. It will will neither be a factor in failure, nor in success. There are very small levels of micronutrients in the rock, primarily Ferric Iron, which can be passed on to the plant roots, but so what? Even the detritus from accumulate fish and plant waste will produce more varied and high quality nutrition for plant roots than the puny amounts of micronutrients in the rock. The material itself has good CEC, so this is fine. There is certainly nothing to fear, but also nothing to write home about either.

Cheers,
 
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