Cheap Bio Filtration Option

[DoubleJ]

I posted something in another thread that I thought was common knowledge but, I have been told 5 or 6 times that people were suprised at this. You can go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a 20lb bag of lava rocks from the gardening center for about $4.99. I did this years ago and have filled 6 canister filters and 2 HOB filters and still have 3/4 of the bag left. The lava rocks are about the size of a nickle to a quarter. Rinse them off and they work great as bio media due to the very porus nature of them. that price for all of the bio media you'll ever need vs. the cost of buying actual bio media from the lfs. It's a no brainer. It's also great because you can repeatedly load up a bunch with bacteria and then give it away to those that need mature media to jump start their filters and it doesn't cost hardly anything.

 

[PaPeRo]

I would not use anything not specifically made for fish tanks as there may be chemicals in the lava rock that may leech out In fact even using some types of rocks for fish tanks are unsafe even if they're real rocks.

 

[DoubleJ]

That's your call. I have done it for years without a problem. DIY Co2 has been a hit for years and I don't see "For fish tanks" printed on the yeast package. Sometimes, using ONLY stuff ment for fish tanks gets really expensive. If you can save a few bucks here and there without harming anything, might as well.

BTW, check this out, Lava rocks sold at a major online retailer for the purpose of bio filtration:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1

And that's $24.99 for 12lbs. Why pay that price when the stuff you get at the hardware store is EXACTLY the same?

Here's another. This is listed at $7.99 but fails to mention how much you get though, I doubt it's 20lbs.

http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...emedialavastone

 

[PaPeRo]

That's your call. I have done it for years without a problem. DIY Co2 has been a hit for years and I don't see "For fish tanks" printed on the yeast package. Sometimes, using ONLY stuff ment for fish tanks gets really expensive. If you can save a few bucks here and there without harming anything, might as well.

BTW, check this out, Lava rocks sold at a major online retailer for the purpose of bio filtration:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1

And that's $24.99 for 12lbs. Why pay that price when the stuff you get at the hardware store is EXACTLY the same?

DIY CO2 doesn't involve materials that comes in contact with the water so it doesn't really matter. Just another example but gravel for fish tanks are epoxy coated for a reason. Why not just buy some garden pebbles to use in a fish tank? It works right?

Anyway I'm not even sure why cost is even a factor since lava rock as a biomedium doesn't need replacing. You only buy it once. Most people who have fish only have one or two tanks. Why would you need 20lbs of lava rock that you're only going to use maybe 10% of? Also I wouldn't be too sure about the lava rocks being EXACTLY the same. They may LOOK the same but their chemical composition may be different.

 

[DoubleJ]

As stated above, I had alot of need with the amount of filters I had to set up. I also pass alot out to friends and it allows me to give them a basket of mature media and not have to worry about getting it back or swapping filters or any of that crap. Cost is a factor. If I can pay $5 for something, why would I go out and look to pay more for it? I'm telling you what has worked for me for a long time. Use it or don't.

 

[PaPeRo]

If you're giving this stuff away then I can understand why cost is an issue. Conversely if cost is an issue why are you giving it away?

I mean..if I had an issue with the cost of food I wouldn't be inviting friends over for a free dinner every week.

Cloning medium for other aquarists is a bad habit anyway unless you have a dedicated cloning tank with no living organisms other than bacteria in it. How do you know your tank is 100% disease free?

 

[newfishaddict]

I would not use anything not specifically made for fish tanks as there may be chemicals in the lava rock that may leech out In fact even using some types of rocks for fish tanks are unsafe even if they're real rocks.

Most minerals that will leech (not chemicals) from rocks leach slowly enough to be safe if you do water changes frequently.

I dont like epoxy coated aquarium substrate. I find it looks glossy and fake.

Anything with a high surface are will work, for example smashed cermic tiles are free and work great.

 

[DoubleJ]

I would not use anything not specifically made for fish tanks as there may be chemicals in the lava rock that may leech out In fact even using some types of rocks for fish tanks are unsafe even if they're real rocks.

That's your call. I have done it for years without a problem. DIY Co2 has been a hit for years and I don't see "For fish tanks" printed on the yeast package. Sometimes, using ONLY stuff ment for fish tanks gets really expensive. If you can save a few bucks here and there without harming anything, might as well.

BTW, check this out, Lava rocks sold at a major online retailer for the purpose of bio filtration:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1

And that's $24.99 for 12lbs. Why pay that price when the stuff you get at the hardware store is EXACTLY the same?

DIY CO2 doesn't involve materials that comes in contact with the water so it doesn't really matter. Just another example but gravel for fish tanks are epoxy coated for a reason. Why not just buy some garden pebbles to use in a fish tank? It works right?

Anyway I'm not even sure why cost is even a factor since lava rock as a biomedium doesn't need replacing. You only buy it once. Most people who have fish only have one or two tanks. Why would you need 20lbs of lava rock that you're only going to use maybe 10% of? Also I wouldn't be too sure about the lava rocks being EXACTLY the same. They may LOOK the same but their chemical composition may be different.

If you're giving this stuff away then I can understand why cost is an issue. Conversely if cost is an issue why are you giving it away?

I mean..if I had an issue with the cost of food I wouldn't be inviting friends over for a free dinner every week.

Cloning medium for other aquarists is a bad habit anyway unless you have a dedicated cloning tank with no living organisms other than bacteria in it. How do you know your tank is 100% disease free?

All I can say is it's a great idea that I, and others, have used for years without a problem. If you want to have a "Holier than thou" attitude about the way you keep your fish, please find another thread to do it in.