adding live rock over time

[gebman]

Hello, i have a 120 gal tank that i'd like to add some live rock to. I cant afford to add the desired amount all in one shot. If i were to cure the rock in a seperate tank and then add it to my aquarium, could i add a few pounds of rock over time as I buy it or is it ony best to add all at once? Once the rock is cured, is it a stress on the aquarium each time it is added?
thank you..
G

 

[vtfishies]

i dont know much either new myself..i add 3-5 lbs a week of cured live rock as to the lfs here is 8-10$ a lb..but i am sure someone with more experience will be here to give a better answer

 

[eddie1973]

I have a 55g, I didnt buy all of my rock at once. The brown algage didnt go away untill a few weeks after putting the last rock in my tank.
Eddie

 

[sweetdawn]

if you cure it in a seperate tank so you know it is fully cured and you add it slowly

 

[uberlink]

You need to make sure that any LR you add after your critters are in the tank is completely cured. The other alternative (the approach I took) was to add as much LR as you can afford now, but also add some non-LR. Find some nice porous base rock, which should sell for 1 or 2 dollars per pound. Over time, it will gradually become festooned with bacteria, algae, feather dusters, worms, etc. Pretty good way to go.

 

[gebman]

Ok, sounds good. Thanks everyone. My tank is full of coral and a few porus rocks so i plan on adding the LR and removing some of the other stuff as I go. Ill leave the porus rocks though so that they may become home to bacteria etc. I love the look of LR from the pictures i have seen here, didnt know it got so cool looking after time or I would have changed my whole setup in the beginning

 

[uberlink]

They won't just become home to bacteria. They'll turn pink and green like any other live rock as it gets encrusted with coralline algae. I've got a piece of former-base rock that is now getting really magnificent as it changes colors.

 

[merredeth]

I have multiple tanks and have always purchased as much as I could within my budget and later purchased pieces at a time from my LFS and added one or two pieces at a time (not more than 2 to 4 pounds total) weekly until I got the right amount in my tank.
Because I like a variety or types of rock I can also get some great deals by being patient and doing it this way seems to not stress water parameters.
Denise M.

 

[caleb]

One option you could use is to make your own LR, which is very cheap, and then just buy what you can of the real stuff. Eventually it will be indistinguishable from the real stuff. Here is a website for making your own LR http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaver...ementRock.html
Good Luck

 

[maxalmon]

great link, I was wondering about this subject.

 

[caleb]

I have some in my 150 gal. that is just starting to turn.