The calcium does disolve some, mainly from things digging
in it. Criters can't dig in lava rock. There are some
creatrus that take sulfur from the water and produce
sulfuric acid, and slowly etch into the calcium rock. Some
createrus chew their way into the rock. This is natural,
and good. Lava rock does not offer this. Denitrification
seems to take place better in calcium base rock and sand,
than silica based rock and sand. I can't say for sure what
the difference is, but it just seems to be be better,
maybe it's the buffering ability. Maybe it's available
minerals. I don't know, it just seems better to me.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



miskairal wrote on 3/17/2006 3:16 AM:
Does the Ca get released into the tank?
I'm the one with the Ca reading of 600 while using NO additives. Not
that I imagine that will last once I get more corals.

Thanks Wayne



Wayne Sallee wrote:
Volcanic rock is very porus, but it has nothing else to offer. Best to
stick with light weight calcium based rock.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



miskairal wrote on 3/16/2006 5:15 PM:

I'm not a geologist and don't remember much about what I was taught
at school on the topic but my hubby tells me that over in the far
back corner of our farm is an area that a geologist told him had been
a volcano. There is rock there that looks very much like some live
rock, very porous and open but dark coloured.

I need way more rock in my tank but am happy to add dead rock and
wait. How can I find out if I could use this stuff? I know there have
never been chemicals of any sort used over there and the only
possibility of anything like that contaminating it would have been if
cattle were dipped for ticks in the yards about a kilometre away and
went straight there, which they don't, still dripping (not really
possible in our dry climate).

Cheerio
miskairal