The Hidden Benefits of Lava Rock
Lava Rock which is formed from the intense heat of volcanos has many hidden benefits for the aquarium that many hobbyists are not even aware of. This blog post on The Hidden Benefits of Lava Rock will give an insight into how this rock really does help.
What are the benefits?
It's is perfect for providing the ideal living environment for your aquarium because it has beneficial denitrifying bacteria. This bacteria will improve your water quality by reproducing and then removing nitrates.
How does it work?
You only have to inspect the rock and you can see it is covered in tiny holes making it extremely porous allowing water to pass through and diffuse into the rock. So what does The Hidden Benefits of Lava Rock really mean? An anaerobic environment is created inside the rock as beneficial nitrifying bacteria consume all the oxygen in the water. Within this anaerobic environment inside the rock, denitrifying bacteria consume the nitrate and produce oxygen and nitrogen. We all know how nitrate in the aquarium is bad news for fish and shrimp so Lava Rock really is the most natural and best way of removing nitrate.
What do I do with it?
Lava is an attractive rock in its own right so not only is it beneficial, it is also ornamental too. They look very natural and stack very well indeed. Some people comment that it is like as if the rock has glue on it as it stacks together so well. It is so versatile and you can really have some fun playing around with different pieces and creating various shapes and constructions. It is popular for creating a cave effect (see picture below) making it a perfect refuge for certain fish and shrimp. Shrimp love to forage on Lava Rock in search of bits of food that may have fallen into the holes. Shrimp also like to have a safe place to hide when they moult so creating them a cave with small pieces would be ideal for them. It really is true The Hidden Benefits of Lava Rock!
To grab yourself some Lava Rock please click here.
26 comments
So can i buy the lava that the stores sell or do i need to buy it at a certain store or website? Would love to try this in both my fresh and salt water tanks. Thank you
Is volcanic lava rocks help plant growths adding more minerals? Or it has only role for bacteria as mentioned above.
One additional question: Because lava rock is often high in silica, will it cause a diatom explosion? Is it possible to use lava rock in your tank withOUT having diatom problems? My tank has red cherry shrimp (neocaridina davidi), mystery and nerite snails.
One additional question: Because lava rock is often high in silica, will it cause a diatom explosion? Is it possible to use lava rock in your tank withOUT having diatom problems? My tank has red cherry shrimp (neocaridina davidi), mystery and nerite snails.
No. Lava rock is literally from lava…