Black lava rock
 

I've been searching through a few threads here for information on using lava rock, but they all seem to be about the use of the red lava rock. Where black lava rock is mentioned, it's normally followed with "don't use that" with no real explanation (at least in the threads I've read through), and yet there are definitely growers who grow in black lava rock.

So, my question is, what is the issue with using black lava rock? Is it only optimal under certain conditions? What are the drawbacks in comparison to the red stuff?

Thanks in advance for any clarification on this, and apologies if I've missed a thread that explained this already (I read through several, but not all).

The two types of lava rock can be used interchangeably. I bought the red lava rock as it was the only type I found locally. Now that I am using the 1/4 inch instead of the 1 inch size, I am ordering it from Amazon so I have more selection. My current bag of potting medium is a bag of small stones, black lava rock and red lava rock, all 1/4 inch. I like how it looks. If you want to use the black lava rock, go for it! :)

Thanks for the info! :)

It's good to know the lava rock is interchangeable.