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Re: Lava Rock

I bought the lava rock at Home Depot. Our well water has a KH of about 16. I set
up a tank with 2/3rds rain water and 1/3rd well water. I must admit I did not
rinse the lava rock after I had busted the larger pieces up to be able to put it
in the box filter. This may be the problem I will try this out on a 2 1/2 gal.
tank to see if it makes a difference.
Thanks for the input.
                        George

Wright Huntley wrote:

> George &melanie Caruso wrote:
> >
> > After seeing so much discussion on the use of Lava Rock in filters I
> > thought I would give it a try. I use a combination of rain water and
> > well water in my tanks. I found that after two days of running a small
> > box filter with lava rock and filter floss in the tanks there was a
> > considerable rise in ph. From 7.0 to 7.6 or higher. Has any one else out
> > there had a similar experience?  I can't live with the ph climb so I
> > have gone back to straight filter floss
> > in my box filters.
> >                        George
>
> The small red lava decorative rocks (coarse gravel?) that I use has not
> shown me any such tendency. Perhaps you didn't get true lava, or did not
> rinse it properly? [Some fish stores sell dyed coral that looks a bit like
> lava but is CaCO3. Buy lava only at the garden shop.]
>
> Without knowing how well-buffered your well water is (what KH it has), and
> what proportions you use to mix, it is hard to say what is happening.
>
> You might try rinsing and soaking some lava in good hot tap water before
> using it in the filter. It might just have some surface dust with a bit of
> lime in it.
>
> That said, what is it about the pH you can't live with? I can't find any
> killies that really "feel" pH unless something else toxic is in the water
> that is pH sensitive. If so, it's far more important that you remove it than
> worry about the pH in that range. [The main worry at higher pH is conversion
> of ammonium to ammonia. They build up as a consequence of missing water
> changes and insufficient plants.]
>
> Wright
>
> --
> Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679  wright at killi dot net
>
>        http://www.atchison.com/Killifish/BAKA-WCW-10.html
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