lava rocks

[jmms1975]

Is it ok to use red lava rock for my dart frog vivarium, I did a little research on the internet and found that lava rocks have a neutral ph.and water will be flowing over them so just wondering if there is anything harmful in them. any info is better than no info.

[DazzleDiscus]

jmms, I don't have experience with dart frogs, but I have seen pictures/setups with lava rock used in waterfalls. I'm not sure if the frogs were dart frogs or some other type... Anyways, please get a second opinion!
-Dazz

[jmms1975]

thanks for the info I have seen them used in aquariums and usually if somthing is off in aquarium water everything dies so i think they will be ok to use.

[Deacon240]

At the very least you'd probably have to run the water for quite a while to neutralize the ph as if you had used concrete... I probably wouldnt recommend it as it's a very porous rock and typically fairly dry. That's my opinion though and I dont have much experience other than growing up in an area with tons of Lava Rock. Very sharp and rough too.

[beckdg]

yep, lava rocks should be fine. they do come packaged for different purposes. there's for gardening and for grilling and maybe more. they should be packaged according to size depending what they were intended for. i notice that the ones for grills sometimes smell almost of fossil fuels, like maybe diesel. be careful not to put any in your viv that smell in such a way.

all that aside lava rocks used to be highly regarded for fish tank and pond filtration because they're pretty much completely inert and very porous. this makes for a lot of surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow in moving water.

good point deacon... i would keep an eye or be careful not to put it somewhere they'd rummage constantly for fear of it scraping them up... it is awful rough. if you wanted to make a waterfall, background, etc. i don't see why not though.

[jmms1975]

my wife bought me an 18"x18" exo terra for christmas,I just put a waterfall in it,that came without a bottom to let the water circulate back into it from the entire tank, i just put the lava rock in the bottom and a layer of aquarium gravel on top,some of the lava rock showing,going to make the water table high enough that it is just under the surface of rocks,so I can grow java moss on the floor surface, I just ordered a cluster of bromeliads that have several pups growing on it, to cover the background.I have been taking pics throughout the contruction and will post them when it is complete.Thanks for the help ,any suggestions on anything I have just mentioned would be greatly appreciated.

[beckdg]

sounds great... if any of your underwater plants don't do so well check out this thread...Fertilization in a paludarium setting

[Dinosaurz]

Iam fairly certain that lava rocks should be fine. My dad is a foreman at a landscaping company, and mostly do ponds/water features. I have helped a few times including a beauty in our back yard.

The skimmer connects to the fallbox, and in the fallbox (where the water comes out for the falls) there is always lava rock in a mesh bag, and I believe some kind of sponge-like thing. So lava rock is fine and acts as a filter for the water.

[tolt]

I use lava rock in my sump on my aquarium for the beneficial bacteria. As long as its cleaned well the only problem would be that its sharp, but since you are using it in the water with gravel over the top it should be fine.

I look forward to seeing the pics.

Please note if you are trying to clean lava rock DO NOT bake it in the oven the trapped air pockets getting heated up can cause it to explode.

[beckdg]

exploding lava rock huh? i've never baked it but that's good info to have!