Live rock

[NaH2O]

If all the rock is dead, and you are looking for critters to colonize, then I would try and put in maybe one piece of live rock. The size of that piece would be dependant on tank size and amount of dead rock trying to be colonized. So that one piece of live rock would be large for a larger sized tank, or small for something like a nano. I can't think of a percent or ratio number of dead to live for a recommendation, because I really don't know. I had commented about the little rubble pieces corals can be mounted on eventually creating a sufficient pod population, but this would probably take some time. I think adding some live rock would be faster, or purchasing a detrivore kit to get started: Inland Aquatics - Detrivore Kit, Oceanpods.com, or IPSF.com

Hope this helps!

 

[wrighty]

Thanks again to all for their comments - My next question is do you believe I could establish a Berlin type system relying on heavy skimming and live rock as the biological filtartion without the need for 100% live rock to start with
Or would if using dead rock albeit with some live rock to seed the dead rock need additional biological filter medium?

In a nut shell - is colonised dead rock ever going to provide the quantity a diversity of bacteria that is found in live rock ?

Hang on - I think Im getting it - Siporax is not alive but bacteria colonise it and it provides a medium for biological filtration - Thus Tuffa can achieve the same

Thanks -

Steve

 

[sryder]

steve, the answer is yes. you can establish enough bacteria as long as the load you are putting on it is not too excessive. I have a 140 gallon tank and probably 70 lbs of base from an old system (carried that stuff around for ten years) Ive added probably another 60 lbs of live rock and it works fine right now for my load. My reef has been up for 3 months and all rocks have signs of life upon them. I started my tank with bioballs also, which are almost all removed. I found that I never neeeded them to begin with. 30 bucks or so for those cat toys. any way rock and a skimmer seem to be all you need for biological filtration. steve ...
ps hi steve.

 

[NaH2O]

Too many Steves! I'll have to use nicks or else I'll confuse myself

sryder - did you do anything special with your old rock before you started the 140 gallon? (i.e. scrub it, or cook it) Just curious about what you did.

 

[Jiddy]

I agree nikki, there are way to many steves, i mike should start passin out nickenames again!

-Steve

 

[sryder]

not too much nikki, I did wash it off with a power washer. soaked it for a couple of days and washed it again. I then soaked it in ro/di water. when i disasembled the tank years ago I washed and scrubbed it all then too. it was sitting in a rubbermaid container seeled the whole time. I was surprised that when i opened it that there was no smell what so ever. I must have moved 4 times toting those rocks around. crazy? glad I did.

 

[sryder]

nikki, if your giving out nicknames make it anything but sock puppet.....

 

[wrightme43]

What is the fastest way to creat a great pod population?

Pod piles, hide them behind the live rock sturcture. I get the little rubble that comes in fresh live rock boxs and cure it. Then take it and make little 3 or 4" tall piles of it, scatter them around in behing the rock. The pods can get in, and hide, and have babies and the fish and stuff cant get to them. They spread out onto the rock and the fish eat the ones they can catch. I bet with the gatorlady's pods in a bottle it would be even faster. This is Steve, thats my friend Steve, and my other friend Steve. Hes Steve. Maybe we should start a forum for people named Steve. We could call it Scuba Steves Super Saltwater Secrets.

 

[NaH2O]

sryder - I don't think hauling rocks all over the place is crazy. That's what a reefer does when they know they won't have to buy that much more live rock for the next tank . If I have to take my tank down....I'll convert my Euro-Reef CS8-3 skimmer into a light. I'll just need to get a lamp shade to fit it

Steve made a good suggestion about the pod piles. When you get your live rock in, you will have some rubble on the bottom of the boxes that you can use for this purpose. When you aquascape, don't be afraid to break the rocks with a chisel to create the shapes you are looking for.

LOL - I'll leave the name changing to mojo - if I started to change nicknames....I'm sure I'd wind up with a new one myself. Sorry to get your thread off track Jiddy....back to your regularly scheduled reading....

~Steve~

 

[sryder]

steve,maybe we can post this as a new trend. you have to be called steve to be in the hobby...maybe steve could help us out on this one or maybe sock puppet steve could help. how about stevie nikki or stevies mojo. help me out here steve... steve

 

[sryder]

stevie nikki, I bet that skimmer would make a great lava lamp...lol

 

[Jiddy]

So just make little rumble piles throughout the tank, nice!

 

[wrighty]

Rubble piles I think Jiddy - Rumble piles are areas of aggression between Boxer shrimps and every other crusatcean in the system

One of the Steves

 

[Jiddy]

Thats what i get for postin in the daytime, somthin that doesnt make sense, im glad we have so many Steves to decipher my code talk!