Is this rock reef safe?

bif24701

bif24701

New member
I bought some LR from someone about an hour from my house. Upon initial inspection everything seemed ok. When I got home noticed some nasty zeos and just decided to bleach the rock to be sure there wasn't any bad hitch hikers. The problem is I suspect these three rocks are not from the ocean and may be lava rock. Anyone know what these are and are they reef safe? Could they potentially leach anything bad like silica or something else? Should I through them out? Here are some pics. Please advise, thanks.

<a href="http://s1198.photobucket.com/user/Aaron_Wasson/media/A903D5A0-D017-4614-AF3D-AAC2438AE7BC.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa456/Aaron_Wasson/A903D5A0-D017-4614-AF3D-AAC2438AE7BC.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo A903D5A0-D017-4614-AF3D-AAC2438AE7BC.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1198.photobucket.com/user/Aaron_Wasson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-03/2598B2A4-15BC-468B-A5D3-2E6B5D8A5449.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa456/Aaron_Wasson/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-03/2598B2A4-15BC-468B-A5D3-2E6B5D8A5449.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2598B2A4-15BC-468B-A5D3-2E6B5D8A5449.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1198.photobucket.com/user/Aaron_Wasson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-03/D2E50238-E4E8-499E-A9DD-EC05B162EFDF.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa456/Aaron_Wasson/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-03/D2E50238-E4E8-499E-A9DD-EC05B162EFDF.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D2E50238-E4E8-499E-A9DD-EC05B162EFDF.jpg"/></a>
 
They probably are okay, but it's hard to be sure. You could drop a bit of vinegar on each of them. If they are calcium carbonate, they will fizz. If they aren't calcium carbonate, they aren't live rock.
 
Did the vinegar test and I did hear some fizzing so I guess we are good to go! This stuff is extremely porous, I don't think lava rock is really porous. I would assume lava rock is more like closed cell foam and will not absorb much.
 
I haven't seen lava rock up close, but if your rock is calcium carbonate, it likely is safe enough. You should try chipping a piece off, in case the rock is encrusted with some coralline algae. I forgot that part. Sorry!
 
I think I'll chip a good size piece off and place it in vinegar. I poured some onto the rock but it was quickly absorbed.
 
Just got back from a local pet store and I found some lava rock that looks just like my rocks only darker. They had the same tri circular pattern holes and same texture. I think the only reason they fizzed in the vinegar and seem so pale is they are covered in calcium carbonate. Either from coralline algae or precipitation. Now the questions is my system in any danger with this rock?
 
Maybe, but most people seem successful with volcanic rock. It's hard to be sure, but given that it likely was in a tank when it developed the calcium carbonate covering, it's likely fine.
 
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