Lace Rock as Live Rock

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Lone Wolf

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Joined
Jan 5, 2007
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36
Location
Northern Idaho
Does anyone have experience with using Lace Rock in a reef aquarium? I have a couple of pieces in my 180 gal and am having some problems with brown algae on those pieces of rock.
 
Does anyone have experience with using Lace Rock in a reef aquarium? I have a couple of pieces in my 180 gal and am having some problems with brown algae on those pieces of rock.

I had some. it works 'ok' for base rock, but if I had to use it again, and I wouldn't, I would probably give it a good muriatic acid bath/soaking and then boil it for an hour or 2. I'd then let it cure for several to 6 months.I'm pretty sure that when I used it, it helped fuel some algae problems I had.
 
I would probably give it a good muriatic acid bath/soaking and then boil it for an hour or 2. I'd then let it cure for several to 6 months.

what would that do? remove silicates? or is lace rock the colored stuff?
 
the lace rock is pretty solid and not very porous. It would help open up some of the pores in the rock for better bacteria population and will remove any organic matter (nitrate, phospahte) built up in the rock. Not sure if it will remove silicates, but I've read that it will help remove unwnated elements/metals like copper.
 
i have 3 pieces currently and I dont have any problems with it.Of-course i use it as base rock.
 
It all depends on the lace rock itself. Lace rock is just dead rock that was once live. It comes in all forms from solids to porous. A good place to get lace rock is Marco rocks and BRS.
 
i have some lace rock that i use as base rock i have always had a problem with my sand turning brown on top like its high nitrates but i test my water and everthing is good could it be the lace rock doing this. ps the rock was in my nano before my 60gall it has lots of life and color.
 
?lace rock?

Curious, is this lace rock? I got this stuff with a tank that was set up as saltwater fish only tank. Not using it. Its been in a bucket for months. Wondering if it can be used without problems.
 
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Kinda looks like fether stone. I could be wrong thow

Never heard of feather stone either but that sounds like what it might be. Its light and airy. If any one wants it they can have it. I dont have any use for it. Maybe garden decor.
 
If its very light and airy it is feather stone is commanly used around ponds and iv seen it in a lot of fresh water tanks.
 
I have a piece of lace rock (black color) in my 37 gallon reef, at the bottom of my rock arrangement. I had to scrub it intensively when I got it because it had lichen growing on it and many of the little pores were filled with clay. It does have some brown furry algae on it right now, but so do some of my other rocks.
My red/orange plating montipora is solidly attached to it(after rejecting half a dozen other rocks) and growing like crazy. My cleaner shrimp lives in the "cave" under it. The coraline has grown all over it, and it blends right in with my other rock.
 
that is TOFA rock it will break down in a system over time I used it for my sump where there is minimal flow and lasted longer then in my display. it works good IMO for sump rocks very porous rock it is.
 
Tufa rock is a very porous rock. When I use to live in Utah alot of the local reefers there would use it in there tank. We would get big collecting trips together and go out into the desert to collect it. Ive seen some very good looking tanks with nothing but tufa rock in it.
 

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