Lava Rock

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SorryEh

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Nanaimo, British Columbia
Hello,

I got a bag of GRILLPRO natural Lava rocks today (it was free!) and am wondering if these are okay to use in my new tank. From what I can tell they don't have anything added but just want to be sure. Also am wondering if they are safe, how would I go about preparing them for the tank, I've seen mixed thoughts about boiling lava rocks or bleaching them.

Thanks ahead for any help
 
Bleaching may be dangerous as it may stay in the rock and leak into the tank for weeks. Boiling is easy and fast and normally gets the job done.
 
Heres a trick you may like.

Stick the rock in the oven at 200 deg for 1 hour, Nothing can survive that.
 
no chance of explosion right?
About the same as boiling it water boils at 100c 212f,
 
I would not boil or bake lava rock. Why would it be necessary anyway? If they do contain anything harmful, it will not be expelled by heating unless you melt the rock.

Lava rock may raise GH and pH. Also, it is not smooth but rough and sharp, so some fish will or could be harmed.

These are intended for BBQ grills, and it is generally a mistake to use any such industrial product in an aquarium.
 
I would not boil or bake lava rock. Why would it be necessary anyway? If they do contain anything harmful, it will not be expelled by heating unless you melt the rock.

Lava rock may raise GH and pH. Also, it is not smooth but rough and sharp, so some fish will or could be harmed.

These are intended for BBQ grills, and it is generally a mistake to use any such industrial product in an aquarium.

Interesting..I assumed since they are "natural", there's nothing on the bag about them containing harmful products and that since they are for BBQ they would not contain any chemicals because that would not be good to have below your food. Is there anything I should look for that would signify they are not safe? I am not worried about pH very much since I am keeping African cichlids unless it would extremely increase the pH. The rocks don't seem to be very sharp but if I am able to use them then I will definitely keep an eye on it to see if the fish are getting injured on them and in that case I would remove them in a heartbeat.
Also noticed you are from Vancouver, I am a short distance away in Nanaimo :)
 
Interesting..I assumed since they are "natural", there's nothing on the bag about them containing harmful products and that since they are for BBQ they would not contain any chemicals because that would not be good to have below your food. Is there anything I should look for that would signify they are not safe? I am not worried about pH very much since I am keeping African cichlids unless it would extremely increase the pH. The rocks don't seem to be very sharp but if I am able to use them then I will definitely keep an eye on it to see if the fish are getting injured on them and in that case I would remove them in a heartbeat.
Also noticed you are from Vancouver, I am a short distance away in Nanaimo :)

I've no idea what if anything toxic might be present, just wanted to point out that using anything not specifically intended for an aquarium is risky. When I changed to play sand for my substrate, I corresponded with the manufacturer about the product. I don't want to mislead you either way.

Yes, Nanaimo, been through a few times, not for many years now. I used to live in Victoria back in the 1980's and before.
 
I'll just point out that Seachem Matrix and DeNitrate are slightly different sizes of pumice....which is a type of lava rock. But different types of lava rock may contain lead and or other metals. Not an issue in the BBQ, but submersed in an aquarium....who knows? I would agree that lava rock typically has some pretty rough surfaces and a single episode of a fish flashing could be very dangerous to the fish. I think river rock is a much better choice unless you have a fishless planted tank.
 

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