All About Liverock

[Ichthys]

Sorry, I forgot that Marco also now sells the "Live" rock as well as their more popular dry rock.. The rock i ordered was dry, they say it is mined from an ancient extinct reef that is now on dry land, hence it doesnt detract from living reefs like harvesting Fiji rock does. As far as cure/cycle/prep I have read a few long threads over at another reef board where people debated the pros and cons on rinsing/curing/cycling dry rock and also watched a good video at BRS about prepping there rock. Bottom line that i have garnered from my research is that even though the rock is dry, and "dead" any rock, from any source will still have some level of crud on the surface and in the pores, no matter how clean it looks to the human eye, there may be crud in it. So that being said, it doesnt hurt to throw it in a tub with a few power heads and a heater for a week before introducing it into the DT which is what i will do.

On a side not, one thing i have found about this hobby is that if you have an idea of how you want to do someting and are willing to look on the net enough, you will find just as many people saying to do it one way as saying to do it the opposite way lol.

 

[Krish]

Yea, that's the way it is with anything. I could find just as much things on the net to justify texting while driving for eg as to not do it lol. Just have to research it thoroughly yourself and try use your best judgement. On the dry rock, I agree. Blow it off and get all the crud you can off of it. I mean you are adding supposedly dry dead rock to an already established aquarium so any waste (if at all present) your DT rock should make quick work of it.

Just a thought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NT Coral Keeper]

Oh, if you are adding truely dead base rock with nothing in it that could die off to an established aquarium then I don't think you have a thing to worry about. Your rock will just become teaming (bacteria wise) with what it needs to help support your tank.

Just wanted to chime in with a thanks...I had essentially the exact same question, having only used live rock before I was a little unsure if I had to let the dry rock age or not. Think I'll toss it in the sump until I am ready for the big move and then from the sounds of it I will be on my way!

 

[Krish]

Just wanted to chime in with a thanks...I had essentially the exact same question, having only used live rock before I was a little unsure if I had to let the dry rock age or not. Think I'll toss it in the sump until I am ready for the big move and then from the sounds of it I will be on my way!

Yea, it should be seeded by sitting down there with the beneficial bacteria you want. Only thing you may lose is a bit of life on it if you don't run a light over the rock in the sump, but once introduced into the main display along with the other liverock you have, it should become re-populated again with these things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jetmech]

One more item to touch on is the density of the different types of live rock. Some is very dense and heavy, such as the Florida, Hatian, and most Fiji. Others are very light and porous, such as Bali, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu and some others. Going by the standby of 1.5 to 2 lbs/gal of LR that many are told would end up making a tank stuffed full of rock with no room for critters! If using the latter list of rock, one only needs .5 to 1.0 lbs/gal to have a more than adequate base for all the bacteria to live and thrive. Plus, you will end up with a more open, cleaner looking reef because there won't be a huge rock "wall", but rather an aquascaped reef. This also makes it easier to create flow patterns to eliminate dead spots which collect detrius and cyano.

 

[mopargirl201]

I have had people talk about different kinds of live rock. Are there any differences between them besides where they came from?

 

[jetmech]

Mainly the shapes and density of the rock. Less dense is lighter and therefore you need less of it. But it is usually more expensive.

 

[godzen]

very informative writeup. Thank you

 

[josh88]

Ok that's was a lot to intake. Krish thank you for the clearing up on the differences in rock. And touching on the pro's and con's. Of it. @ mojo that's was pretty good input. It makes sense of the cycling that takes place, and the change in cycle. And makes sense that live rock really isn't doing the work but the beneficial bacteria on it. Didn't think of it that way. But a ? And I may have missed it. But wouldn't rock that was really porous also allow for filtration as to let material that can be used by the beneficial bacteria to go through the porous openings aiding in the filtration?

HTC tapatalk

 

[Krish]

Thanks for the comments!

As for your question, if I am understanding what you are asking correctly, the more porous the rock is the better it is for biological filtration purposes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[josh88]

Yeah that was what I was asking

HTC tapatalk

 

[#1Reefkeepr]

Yeah that was what I was asking

HTC tapatalk

Yess the more porous your live rock the more Benificial bact. You will house in the pours of your rock!!! Hope that helped!!! Good luck!!!

 

[#1Reefkeepr]

*Josh IMO I like to mix Different Porouse type rock I like Fiji, an Tonga show pieces!!! But as long as your LIVE rock is very porous and u like the shape of that rock it's good to go!!! Hope it helps if anymore Qz let us kno!!! Good luck!!!
Pics of different rock

 

[#1Reefkeepr]

*Josh IMO I like to mix Different Porouse type rock I like Fiji, an Tonga show pieces!!! But as long as your LIVE rock is very porous and u like the shape of that rock it's good to go!!! Hope it helps if anymore Qz let us kno!!! Good luck!!!
Pics of different rock

i hope it makes it easier for your search for the rite and perfect type of live rocks for your system these rock are just some of the type I use for Benificial Bact. to colinate!!! Good luck!!!