Lava Rock As Live Rock?

Would it be ok to use a few pieces of Lava rock, as live rock in my sump???

 

Nope. Not good at all. It will leach metals back into your tank.

 

+1 dont do it. You can get some dry rock online for about $2 per pound- Reefcleaners.org is a great site for it. That is if you don't want to pay for all live rock. Just make sure you use some live so you have bacteria to seed the rest.

 

+2

I wouldn't allow lava rock anywhere near my SW tank. Even if there are no heavy metals, SW has corrosive properties that can break down the mineral composition of lava and wreak havoc on your chemistry.

 

Thats a great question and some even more surprising answers. I'm sure fishthecorner was attempting to take advantage of the rocks porous properties, but I would have never even thought about metals. That's great you decided to ask this first.

 

Noooo! I made this mistake way back when on my first tank. Lava rock was covered in hair algae within 2 months. That stuff leaches phosphates like crazy.