Have any of you tried red lava rock in place of perlite?

[Proud Marine Dad]

I am going to need over $100 worth of perlite this growing season and some guys over on a canna forum told me to use lava rock as it is even better.
Curious if anyone has used it and what they think? Apparently it is a neutral pH like perlite but it does not retain moisture as well and it is heavier than perlite so I am wondering if it's worth trying? I could probably get it real cheap at the U-Save Rockery here in Hayward but I need to do some more research first.
 
Thanks

 

[jojo]

I've used it before, they are probably twice the size of perlite.  I liked it...  it's good stuff.

 

[beerbreath81]

not in place of perlite, but i did use it in the Aquaponics last year, worked pretty good....does that count?
 

 
 

 

[Hophead]

Never heard of anyone using lava rock but lots of people use expanded clay pellets. First thing that comes to mind is lava rock is really sharp i wonder if this would hurt the roots and even more so if you decided to transplant. Most clay pellets i have seen are smooth round balls even hydro corn that is a little odd shaped is still on the smooth side of things.
 
Ask your hydroponics store if they have any broken or ripped perlite bags in the back most places always do and only a hand full or so is missing and they give 10%-20% off the list price. Expanded clay pellets are more expensive then perlite that's for sure so i don't think that would be a good way to go about things. The cheapest way would be to add some compressed bricks of coco into the soil mix.

 

[mrgrowguy]

I have used it mixed with my soil I use for Maple trees, the lava rock adds a TON of good drainage and holds a lot of air/water in the rock itself and helps give the roots what they need.
 
I don't use it anymore with my new plants, but the trees with the lava rock that i used before did  great, even considering my mild neglect. I pretty much switched to just using perlite instead of the lava rock now, but I would have no problem using it again.I think the perlite is easier on my hands when I do my mixing (I mix all soild by hand due to my personal small-sized projects).
 
 
edit - I found a huge bag of perlite at Home Depot for super cheap. I used to by the perlite by the 8-quart sized bags, but now I just get the bulk bag from HD.
 
PS: I still have red lava rocks floating around my front and back yards from using so much of it in the past.