Ocean Rock and protein skimmer questions

A

Adam El Kasaby

New Member
Hi guys.

I have recently set up a new marine tank and put ocean rock in (the porous stuff i could find, i know it will never become as live as reef bones) and was wondering how long it would take in a new tank for it to start changing. Also what signs should i look out for that would tell me that it is changing? Is a protein skimmer necessary? I have one anyway but i was just wondering if i should have it running. Will it lower ammonia levels if they spike? Thanks

Adam
 
geridoc

geridoc

Well-Known Member
The dried rock began to become "live" the moment that ammonia was present in the tank, either from decaying food or a source such as a cocktail shrimp, or from the direct addition of ammonia. However, it will not have the enormous diversity that "from-the-ocean" live rock will have for a long time since you will have to seed it with a variety of invertebrates that hitchhike on other additions to the tank. It is usually a good idea to add a few pieces of live from-the-ocean rock to speed this latter process. You will know that the dried rock is changing by measuring nitrogen waste (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) in the water. Initially, ammonia will rise, followed by nitrite, and eventually nitrate will rise and ammonia and nitrite will fall to undetectable levels. At that point, the rock (and the tank) is ready for fish. If you are creating a FOWLR system a skimmer can be handy, but not essential. If there are corals, clams, etc in your tank's future a skimmer is a valuable piece of equipment (although you can be successful without one, especially if you practice nutrient export with either macroalgae or algae scrubbing.)
 
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