Back to Basics ~Live Rock~

[NaH2O]

I thought this topic could be great for new hobbyists and a nice refresher for experienced reefers. The first post may seem lengthy, but I hope to get some great info out here.

What is it? The basis of live rock formation is old stoney coral skeleton. The stoney corals produce skeletons containing calcium carbonate, and as the skeletons have growth, eventual death, and overgrowth...this helps to form the structure. The "live" part comes from the various organisms, mainly bacteria, living on and within the rock. Anyone that has live rock in their tanks knows it is not a solid structure. It is very porous, and in most instances, light in comparison to its size.

What is it for? Live rock: provides structure/aquascape for a tank; habitat for many inhabitants (many invertebrates, as well as refuge & hiding spots); provides a food source; and biological filtration and mineralization.

Biological filtration: Porous live rock allows for a huge surface area to house nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. You do get some denitrification from live rock. My tank as an example, had a large reduction in nitrates during the cycle/cure process. I did not have any means for this to occur except the live rock (ok...bacteria is present on all surfaces, but I'll say the main mode of nitrate reduction was via LR).

A question was posed on another thread..."Does live rock go through cycles as well, when it gets older in a tank".

The answer is live rock is in a constant state of flux. Bacterial turgor pushes out broken down nasty material and end products. So, the rock basically cleans itself out through this action. The bacteria use enzymes to turn their food source into a liquid. Using my tank as an example....I have quite a bit of detritus in my rock, on my rock, all over the rock since it is curing. The bacteria is turning it into a liquid, and now the hair algae sent out the sirens screaming "MILK SHAKE!!". The hair algae is feeding on these nutrients and growing like crazy. Well, we know this. Anyone that has cured rock or cycled a tank is aware of the algal blooms that take place. Older rock does the same thing. It is constantly shedding gunk out of itself....the cool thing about rock, the gunk can be set free in the water column and hopefully picked up by a filter sock or skimmer, as an example. Some areas of rock may not have any "gunk" coming out, while another area may be shedding like crazy. Taking a turkey baster or powerhead helps to free the material, help keep the algae from getting the milkshake, and aid in cleaning out the rock. Let's face it...even with outstanding circulation, there are some areas that will collect detritus.

I know I have only touched on the bacterial portion of live rock. Obviously, there are detrivores and other inhabitants that aid with processing, but these merely break down the organics into smaller organics, which need to be removed.

 

[Curtswearing]

I am amazed at the amount of detritus that is currently spitting out of my LR. My rock is a couple of years old at this point. I used to have a DSB which temporarily hid the waste coming off of the LR. However, as we know, DSB's only temporarily store things....they don't remove most things.

Now that I have a bare bottom, the shedding of the LR is even more apparent. This is one of the reasons I have always recommend turkey basting your live rock often. Now that I'm bare-bottom, I can see just how much really comes out of LR. Turkey basting IS important....we don't want this stuff to stay on our LR....we want it out of our system as quick as possible.

Quite often, when patches of algae appear on the LR, there is a bed of detritus sitting right under it. The algae is feeding off of the Phosphates sitting there in the detritus.

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Nice write up NaH2O! Should help a lot of newbies out and refresh us more experienced reefers too. Its good to see this kinda thing here as you dont see much of this on other forums!

Hopefully some of the more talanted and inspired members here will follow your lead and do some more articles like this. Wish I would have known about sites like this when I started!!!

The bare bottom thing seems to be the latest trend and for reasons quiet understandable. I have even considered it a couple of times in the name of keeping things tidyer(sp? but you know what I mean...) In fact my forth comming frag tanks will be bare bottom, I just couldnt see such a sterile looking enviroment in my main tanks. But you are right! I am amazed at the amount of crap that can be found on my "clean" live rock! Mine gets the powerhead treatment once a week!

 

[Scooterman]

I have some LR knocking on three years now, I have to blast every other day to keep it clean, still looking for a pump or ph that can replace the tight stream of an ordinary turkey baster. When I get time, that may be a good project. I can suck the bottom of my tank bare & within days it gets stuff floating around again, I have 3 little fish in my 100g, I'm cautious of feeding, so I'm guessing the 200lbs of LR is pumping out lots of waste on a daily basis. I recently started Cooking some of my LR, it was old, full of Algae that was attached, looked like lettuce, so I made a 30g tub of sw, installed a Heater & PH. I sat over an old tub of waste sw & went to picking and scrubbing the rocks with my wife's tooth brush I used a second tub of sw that I was about to dump to rinse it well, then inside the new tub of sw. I then put a lid on it & checked up on it each day, looking at the amount of detritus for about two weeks, sometime replacing some of the water. I wanted the rocks to dump off as much as possible, also I was lazy one weekend so it took two weeks. When I was through I made a new batch of clean sw & rinsed the rocks before installing on my new stair rack for better circulation (another topic)! The LRs just looked wonderful, & in no time being revived, from my observations, it was working again like when I got them. I don't have a microscope & a test lab but I think this process made a huge difference, it gave the LR time to purge & catch-up with itself. Now after seeing this, when I move my tank later the summer\fall I will most probably do the same with even a larger batch of my LR, I'm a true believer that it works.

 

[Curtswearing]

Scooterman, good explanation of what we are talking about when we say cooking the live rock. I suspect that most people think we are actually talking about boiling the live rock when we aren't.

It's amazing that we can regenerate our rock to a clean condition just by doing this. I'm glad that your rock only took 2 weeks. I know someone who had to cook theirs for 6 weeks.

A friend of mine had a lot of Phosphates in their water column. They were careful about Phosphate inputs and didn't have a sandbed. The only place it could be coming from was the LR. The LFS wanted them to replace their rock but instead they are going to cook their rocks.

 

[Scooterman]

Actually, I wasn't aware of the term Cooking until recently but had learned about the process during the first years of crunching Reefing 101, Yes now that I think about it, probably I could of let them set a few more weeks.

 

[Curtswearing]

I put a pretty good article on live rock down in the library. This was written by Mike Paletta. It has a lot of good information but he kind of glossed over the fact that nutrients can come out of live rock through bacterial processes.

After understanding the nitrogen cycle, nothing has advanced the marine hobby as much as the use of live rock for biological filtration. Prior to the use of live rock, most marine tanks consisted of dead coral skeletons sitting on a white bed of dolomite along with an undergravel filter; which is where biological filtration took place. With the introduction of live rock, not only was a more natural looking environment provided but the locus of biological filtration was shifted as well. This has increased the likelihood of success in the hobby many fold.

The term "live rock" seems to be a misnomer in that terrestrial rock certainly is not alive. The mineral portion of live rock is indeed not alive. In fact, it is not even true rock: it did not form as a function of the earth's mantle cooling. Rather, the rock portion of live rock are the dead coral skeletons from the reef that have broken off from the coral reef itself and become worn down and mineralized over time. These fragments have then been colonized by bacteria, algae, sponges, etc. that create a living patina on the rock. However, these organisms are not restricted to colonize only the surface of the rock. Many of these organisms bore into the rock itself and consequently live on the innermost surfaces within the rock structure. For this reason, not only can live rock act as the substrate for common aerobic bacteria, but it can also act as a culturing ground for the anaerobic and anoxic bacteria that live within the inner spaces of the live rock: which can help to reduce nitrate to some degree. This is also why some organisms, such as boring sponges, may live deep within the rock's surface: when these organisms die, it can take a long time for them to completely decompose be removed. Some algae may be problematic on certain rocks for an extended period of time even though the surface of the rock appears clean and does not have seem to any source of nutrients to fuel the algae's growth.

The nature of the rock itself also makes it different from most rock. If you look at virtually any terrestrial rock, what you see is something completely solid with the surface area being restricted to what you see. Live rock is quite different due to how it is formed. As a result of being constructed by tiny colonial coral animals, live rock is full of nooks and crannies that can be as large as your finger or a fine as a strand of hair. All these interstices, coupled with the boring animals, provide this rock with tremendously high surface area. This large surface area, which is almost completely colonized by bacteria, allows live rock to be the only substrate necessary for biological filtration in some reef systems.

As a result of the use of live rock, an entire industry has arisen to provide the consumer with this necessary component of a successful reef tank. This proliferation of collectors, collecting methods and storage methods has led to a lot of questions regarding the qualities of live rock. The most frequently asked question concerns the differences between "cured" and "uncured" or "fresh" live rock. Almost all live rock is harvested from the ocean and shipped moist to the dealer or hobbyist. It is shipped this way to reduce the large freight cost that would occur if it were shipped under water. In this state, it is "uncured" or "fresh". As a result of this moist shipping method, many of the organisms present on the rock die off and release a lot of organics into the water. Once this die off has ceased and the organisms have stabilized, this rock is considered cured. Some dealers have holding facilities to cure this rock. However, due to the premium price charged for this rock, it is often more cost effective to cure one's own rock. Also, even though the rock may be cured in a wholesale facility, the stress of shipping it, even if it is only a short distance, causes some die off so it will need to be cured again once it reaches its final destination.

The curing of the rock is not too difficult. As long as adequate time is allowed for the curing, there should be very few problems. I have been using the same curing method for the past fifteen years with good results. Upon arrival of the rock, it should be rinsed in a saltwater bath of appropriate salinity and temperature. This is done in order to remove any detritus that has settled on it as well as to remove any grossly dead organisms. Upon completion of the rinse, the live rock should be inspected and any dead or unwanted organisms (bristle worms, algae, chicken liver sponge, etc.) removed with forceps or tweezers. Dead organisms are usually readily apparent by their white color, limp structure or offensive smell. I strongly advise removing any sponges that are growing on the rock even if they appear to be alive. Sponges can cause the most fouling during the curing process. This is necessary as sponges that have been exposed to air for any length of time usually die as a result of the system not having a means for removing air that has gotten trapped in their tissues. So even though they appear alive, they are already dying due to this exposure. Also sponges tend to die slowly, so while they may appear alive on the rock, they are in the process of dying and could release organics into the water for an extended period of time. The worst offender on this account is the chicken liver sponge. This black or dark brown sponge encrusts a lot of the live rock that comes out of Florida and the Caribbean. If not removed promptly, this sponge will die over several months releasing organics the entire time. It is best to remove any fragment of this sponge. All of the macro algae should also be plucked from the rock as well. Not only will most of the algae die from the trip, releasing nutrients, but what is left will also grow profusely due to this excess of nutrients.

After all the undesirable components have been removed, the rock should be placed in the aquarium that will eventually be its home. It should be placed close to the pattern that it will eventually rest in. How the live rock should be placed will be discussed below. The water should have been in the tank for a week or longer prior to the addition of the live rock. This is done to reduce the negative effects caused by the caustic nature of freshly prepared seawater. All of the rock should be cured at once as it is very deleterious to an established reef tank to add new uncured rock to it. Even rock that has been cured in a separate system has the capacity to dump a lot of nutrients into an established tank, so this should be avoided.

While the rock is curing, two important things need to be done. First, strong water movement on the rock is essential. By providing strong water movement, any material that dies will be blown off the rock. In addition, strong water movement will prevent detritus from settling on the rock and killing whatever that is underneath it. To produce this water movement, using multiple powerheads will work well. To augment the water movement, it is often necessary to use a bulb baster to remove some of the white film that invariably forms on some of the live rock that is away from where strong water movement is occurring. Second, good protein skimmer is an important factor for proper curing of the live rock. Using a good protein skimmer aids in curing the live rock in that much of the dead material is skimmed away before it can pollute the tank. In addition, the skimmer adds oxygen to the water so that anaerobic conditions do not develop.

For the first week to ten days, the lights should remain off. After this initial period, the lights can be turned on for less time than would be the normal photoperiod. The goal is to provide enough light for the coralline algae to grow but not enough to stimulate nuisance micro algae growth. After this 4-6 week curing period, the light duration and intensity can be increased to normal levels.

During the curing process, the only substances that may be added to the tank are calcium, magnesium and strontium. These substances are added during the curing process to try and give the calcareous algae an advantage. If these substances are not in adequate supply, the coralline and other calcareous algae will tend to die off. As a result, the less desirable micro algae will tend to overtake the rock. However, if the water used to cure the rock is newly prepared, there should be adequate amounts of these elements present so they may not need to be supplemented.

The amount of coralline algae present on the rock is dependent upon from where the rock was taken. There are many types of live rock available including: turf rock, base rock, rubble rock, worm rock, or reef rock. Each of these rock types have different characteristics as a result of where they were harvested. The characteristics of the rock also differ as a result of which body of water the rock was taken from.

 

[Curtswearing]

Base rock generally refers to large bulky pieces of live rock that have either been buried under sand or under other pieces of live rock. This rock usually is less porous and does not contain a lot of external life or coralline algae. This rock may also contain significant sand or silt in its spaces. Consequently, it needs to be rinsed thoroughly before beginning the curing process. This rock is, like its name implies, a good rock to use as a base for setting more decorative rock upon. Using this rock for the bottom of the mini-reef structure is much better than using terrestrial rock. When terrestrial rock is used, it not only increases the risk of introducing toxic compounds to the tank that are not present in live rock but it also does not provide the surface area necessary for proper biological filtration. Terrestrial rock such as lava rock or feather rock, which is volcanic in origin, also seems to act as a magnet for detritus accumulation due to their very-porous structure. As a result, micro-algae blooms are frequently a problem on these rocks and may be a constant challenge to keep under control. These types of rock are often used as a means of cost savings, but over time their need for constant cleaning and other problems makes them a more expensive alternative.

Turf rock is the complete opposite of base rock in that if anything, it contains too much life. This rock is taken from the turf zone where many of the macro-algaes thrive. This rock usually contains coralline algae as well as these macro-algaes. For best results, I usually pull off this macroalgae as discussed above. This rock may also contain large populations of bristle worms, so care should be taken when handling it. When cleaning this rock, care should be taken not to get jabbed by one of these pests when picking it up. Also, due to this rock being exposed to air for a long period of time during shipping, there is usually a large die off of bristle worms and other worms so measures should be taken to allow for the easy removal of these worms from the bottom of the tank once they die. Tweezers are a handy way to remove these and any other pests that may be encountered during the initial cleaning process.

Worm rock differs from the other two types in that this rock usually contains a preponderance of hard tubeworms directly in the rock. These are usually quite decorative. The only problem is that this type of rock usually comes from water where there is a high amount of suspended matter and high nutrients. As a result, these animals need to be fed to remain healthy. If too much of this rock is used, a risk of polluting the tank develops if these animals are fed enough to remain healthy. Conversely, if these animals are not fed adequate amounts of food, they may die and pollute the tank as a result.

The best type of rock to use is what's referred to as reef rock, rubble rock or just plain old live rock from a good location. Some of the best locations for live rock include: Fiji, Tonga, Nambu and Indonesia. This type of rock consists of the pieces of old coral skeletons that have broken off and fallen close to the reef in relatively shallow water. As a result, it contains the best growth of coralline algae as well as small colonies of other animal and plant life. Depending upon where this rock was collected, it can contain colonies of coral as well as tunicates, bryozoans, zooanthids, sponges, and sea squirts. This type of rock should make up the bulk of the mini-reef structure.

Not only does the zone from where the rock was taken impact its characteristics but so does the body of water. Live rock from the Caribbean, Atlantic, or Gulf rock is usually very densely structured due to it having come from corals with very dense skeletons. This rock, for lack of a better term, resembles bricks. Live rock harvested from the Pacific Ocean is usually far less dense than its Atlantic counterparts. This rock usually contains more branching structures. It also contains more nooks and crannies and will weigh less than Atlantic rock when the same size pieces are compared. This type of rock is currently being collected from Fiji, Tonga, Indonesia, Nambu and the Marshall Islands. This rock is usually slightly more expensive than its Atlantic counterparts due to the increased expense of shipping. However, due to its less-dense nature, less of it is required to fill a given space than Atlantic rock. This open structure and myriad collection of creatures that arrive on Pacific reef rock make this rock my choice for configuring a reef. The rock also differs markedly in terms of its characteristics depending upon from where it has been taken from. Live rock from Fiji is currently the industry standard. This rock is very open and can be purchased in pieces up to 35-40 lbs in size; which are quite useful when decorating large tanks. This rock has been extensively harvested and as a result it can vary markedly in terms of its quality. Some rock can be full of life, while other pieces within the same box can be completely devoid of life. All of the rock is just as valuable over time, so even if it looks stark when introduced, this should not be a deterrent to its use.

Unlike Fiji rock, Tonga rock is more branched in nature and looks like thick twigs or sticks. Using this rock for the basis of a mini reef produces a very open structure. Initially, it may be difficult to balance the corals upon this structure, especially if Tonga rock is used exclusively. If some of this rock is used with other types of live rock, it can help to keep the overall structure open.

Live rock from Nambu usually resembles that from Fiji, but with slightly less coralline cover. This rock often arrives with small coral colonies still attached. These colonies should be removed and placed in a tank with clean water and good filtration as the curing process for the fresh rock will usually kill off the coral colonies.

Please note that even rock from these locales differ in terms of its quality. The level of quality is dependent on how the rock was handled after harvesting and during shipping; so, much of the quality control is out of the hands of the importer. The level of quality can be adversely affected if the rock sits in the boat or on the dock for any length of time out in the hot sun; virtually everything on it will perish. Much of the life on it will also be killed during shipping if it sits on a hot or freezing tarmac, since it has little water around it for insulation.

As mentioned above, even during the curing process the rock should be placed in the position close to what its final position will be in the reef tank. The positioning of the rock is crucial for several reasons. The animals present on the rock should be positioned close to how they were positioned in the wild. If the corals, invertebrates or coralline algae were positioned upwards or sideways to capture strong light or strong water movement, that is how they should be positioned in the tank. The rock's natural orientation needs to be taken into account so that things that were growing in one direction in the wild will continue to do so. The mini-reef structure needs to be stable so that as corals and other invertebrates are placed on this "platform". It is important to make sure that they do not rest precariously or fall. The mini-reef structure also needs to be as open as possible to provide lots of hiding places for the tank's inhabitants and to look natural. A reef does not look like a wall, but like an open rock lattice. More importantly, this open structure should allow water to readily move around and through the entire structure so that detritus does not settle and accumulate in any one spot. Lastly, the rock should be arranged so that it is aesthetically pleasing and mimics, at least in part to, what a small portion of an actual reef looks like.

When starting a reef tank, it is not necessary to pile the rock all the way to the surface. Rather than looking at rock by weight, it is more realistic to consider its volume. Rather than looking at weight as being the determining amount of rock needed, it is much more useful to add rock until one-half to two-thirds of the tank is full. More than this amount is not necessary as the corals will very quickly fill the space that is left open.

Most mini-reefs are built to resemble a wall with the rock stacked upon each other like bricks. While this may provide the most stable structure it does not resemble a reef, which is in essence what we are trying to capture. This wall design is often the result of the tall thin tanks that are most commonly offered for sale. Fortunately, lower and wider tanks have become more readily available, as have custom tanks. Because of this, it is now much easier to design a more realistic and interesting reef tank. A mini-reef structure that contains arches, long overhangs, deep caves and interesting ridges and ledges using good live rock is how a reef tank, and any saltwater system for that matter, should be designed. By selecting good quality live rock and properly placing the rock in an interesting manner, it is possible to provide not only good biological filtration, but also to provide a tank that is pleasing to look at. Live rock is crucial to a reef tank. Understanding the differences in the different types of live rock, as well as how to cure it properly goes a long way in ensuring the success of a reef tank.

In the next article the proper way to aquascape with live rock will be discussed.

Live Rock and Its Use in Marine Aquaria, Part 1 by Mike Paletta

Live Rock and Its Use in Marine Aquaria, Part 2 by Mike Paletta

 

[Curtswearing]

Lets continue this discussion a little.

What makes good live rock and why? Does where it comes from make a difference other than just looks?

 

[zhenya]

Interesting discussion,guys. I'm sure most of you read this article. It brings some interesting points,like where rock is collected and what it is really providing in terms of biological filtration. Just incase you missed it

 

[NaH2O]

Yeah, Gene...I unfortunately spent time reading that article (wish I could get a few of those minutes back). Bacteria is soooo important when it comes to live rock. Porousity in live rock makes all the difference when talking about bacterial populations and filtration.

 

[Curtswearing]

Carbon FAQ's Yikes....now we are discussing fluid dynamics and Van der Waals forces.

I have read that article and I have a few problems with his line of thinking. If what he was saying is true, then I better start buying worms to add to my Granular Activated Carbon to make it work. Activated carbon is used in the food industry, chemical industry, etc. because there is a method of things getting inside small pores.

Entrainment occurs naturally with both GAC and Live Rock. We like the more porous live rock because of it's increased potential for biofiltration. We like the more porous GAC because of it's increased potential for filtering as well.

Here's the basics on how carbon works and we can then discuss the LR. A single pound of activated carbon has the surface area equal to 125 acres. Very porous stuff. It has been baked in such a manner as to create all of the different types of pores and surface area.

TRANSPORT PORES---Transport pores are the internal volume of the carbon granule where the graphitic plates are far apart or the cracks and crevices of the particle. The transport pores act as the "highways" for the contaminants to reach the adsorption pores where they are adsorbed. It is important to note that no adsorption takes place in the transport pores. Transport pores are vitally important, as they allow access to the adsorption pores - especially those deeper within the carbon granule.

Basically the bigger holes.

ADSORPTION PORES---Adsorption pores are the internal volume where the graphitic plates are very close together creating a higher energy. Higher energy is important to adsorption because it is the energy that "holds" the contaminant (the carbon "adsorbs" the contaminant). The volume where the graphite plates are far apart and the cracks and crevices make up the transport pores. It is important to note that all adsorption takes place in the adsorption pores and not the transport pores.

Basically the smaller holes.

VAN DER WAALS FORCE---There is a natural attractive force between all things in the universe. Gravity is one of these forces. In adsorption theory, the force between the contaminate and the carbon is the adsorptive force. It technically is a Van der Waals force. It is this attractive force that enables adsorption to occur. The forces are a function of the distance between the two objects. The closer together the objects are, the higher the attractive force is. The higher the attractive force, the higher the "energy" level of the pore space.

Basically, this is exactly how a protein skimmer works as well.

HOW DOES CARBON BIND THE CONTAMINATE----Once the contaminant enters the carbon granule via the transport pore space, it diffuses into the carbon matrix until it enters the smaller pores where the adsorptive forces begin to take effect. Once it reaches a higher-energy area, it can no longer migrate (or diffuse) because the adsorptive force is stronger than the diffusional force. The contaminant is adsorbed to the carbon surface by the adsorptive forces (the Van der Waals forces). In this state, the contaminant is referred to as the adsorbate.

That's how water and other compounds get into the live rock....not by worms.

How does the water and compounds get out of the live rock? Bacteria!!! That's why the previous discussion of cooking the live rock works. The bacteria will actually make an enzyme and dissolve the live rock and the Phosphates and other things adsorbed to it and create waste. This waste will actually be pushed out of the LR by bacterial pressure (turgor). Eventually it will leave the pores of the LR and sit on the surface. Algae loves this waste which is why it's important to turkey baste the rocks often.

 

[NaH2O]

Awesome post, Curt! I know you have been busy scraping the coralline off of your rocks . Too bad I just went back and glanced over the article again. I love how small the section on bacteria is. What about bacterial turgor??? Oh yeah, he can't hear me shout.....

 

[mojoreef]

yea I would not put to much importance of Rons latest foopaw. He did miss a lot of scienitific facts..but then again that is nothing new, lol

The one thing to really remembers is that LR (like Sand substraights) does not really have the ability to keep up with most peoples bioloads and feeding plans. It is basically a loosing battle, just a slow one. Corraline algae poses no threat to diffusion or its ability to perform nirtification or denitrification. One thing that is truely important about LR and often over looked is the fact you need to blow off the detritus. As mentioned above LR will shed detritus, However if the detritus is not blow off it will clog diffusion and become a nutrient sink and then algae is on the way. Dont be affraid to give your rocks a good cleaning on a regular schedule, this will greatly lengthen its life span.
Another things for those that have LR that is very old and the rock has become a lossing battle in regards to detritus and algae. Cooking the rock as Scott mentioned is a tried and true method, but sometimes the time frame can be long. I have some rock in my tank that is around ten years old, some of it is ugly rock and I will be tossing it but I do have some very nice peices that I want to keep. What I do is to put them into a boiling pot of water for a few hours. it kills all life (good and bad) and flushes out any organic clogs. Once that is done the rock is basically bone white, from thier I put it into the tank or rock bin. With in a month or two the rock looks the same as every rock in the tank and is fully colonized with bacteria. Done it for years.


mike

 

[NaH2O]

Does live rock get the same sulphide zones that DSBs do? I would imagine they would, as the bacteria would be present.

 

[mojoreef]

From m experence only when a portion of the rock is smothered (in sand) or simular

Mike

 

[Scooterman]

Umm, Smotherd LR, you can't beat that!

I had some small pieaces (total about 25lbs) was cooked for seveal weeks & the green leuttece never died off, so I pressure washed it clean. I then let dry, so now I'll probably boil it a while. I guess Mike saved a few steps, it is funny how white they turned out, the pressure washer did one great job, otherwise I was going to toss it all.

 

[mojoreef]

No dont really need to toss the rock. Remember the rock is just the house and its the bacteria that does the job. When you boil it like I did you are just introducing a new apratment building into the neighborhood.


Mike

 

[wrightme43]

Anybody wanna talk about which live rock they like the best? I like my tonga branching. Its down side it that it is dense rock, up side very open structure to my reef so it easy to keep clean. I really like the way it looks and stacks giving me a very open looking feel to my tank. I would like to know about your favorite kind and why. Steve

 

[mojoreef]

Well Marshalls was always my fav up unto this Pukani came out (new Island off of figi) the shapes are unreal as they are all acro heads, very light and pourous


Mike