volcano rock reef safe?

I thought the same thing a couple of years ago.

Here is what I found out.

There are a ton of very noxious chemicals & compounds found in lava rock that can leach into your system, potentially killing everything.

 

I have always thought it was not reef safe myself but i have seen some of our members pics that put it in their DT

 

I've got some in my tank, np yet...
I looked up this subject one day, and pretty much came to the conclusion
red lava rock is inert and ok
white (pumice) is ok
any other tinted colors are probably not.
But the reality of it is, even LR you order online, could contain something you don't know about, it's not like they xray the rocks and take mineral samples...
/shrug

 

I would say it could be safe in the long run but I would let it sit in a seperate bath of saltwater for a long time with many water changes. Hoping in the long run it would leach out all the bad stuff but it could decided to release them at any time and then you are SOL!

 

Most live rock being sold as such is actually dead coral, which is essentially a calcium carbonate skeleton. One can be infinitely more sure about the composition of the coral skeleton than they can about a lava rock. Tons of random minerals have most likely been incorporated into that rock which is not the case with aragonite.

 

I know what it's supposed to be, but I myself had a dead coral rock start rotting on me....
/shrug
In dealing with people/companies on the net, for the pure amount they go through, whether it's lava rock or LR, I'm sure that neither care about our opinions on purity...
That would be like arguing with a drug dealer you got some cut in your blow.. lol

 

i have had the red lava rock in my 75 for over 5 years