god Live Rock is confusing

mbunakid

mbunakid

New Member
Ok I need to know a few things, I am in the process of setting up a salt water tank that I will have enough money for by christmas or so, it will be my first salt tank I had rift lake cichlids before and all types of freshwater.
I have about 200lbs of lace rock which is dry rock that they sell at lfs but would like to convert it into live rock how should I do this? I have an extra 20g with all the freshwater stuff :) but have salt
So I have heard you can cure live rock in a saltwater tank in anywhere from a few weeks to two months so does placing the rock into a salt water tank begin the curing process if so are fish neccesary in the tank? OR do you have yo use the rock as base rock and put live rock over it. I have a few months before I assemble, cycle, and put fish in the tank.
 
chuckcac

chuckcac

Member
couple questions...
did you ever use this lace rock in a freshwater setup?
what is the lace rock made of...? (what type of rock is it... lava rock or base rock?)
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
"live" rock refers to the marine life and bacteria that is found on the rock.
Lace rock, even if it is calcium based, will never become "live" in the literal sense. It can become encrusted with algae and such, but for true diversity you need some real "live" rock.
Lace rock is also very dense and non porous. It is not particularly valuable at biological filtration.
Make sure you know the composite of the rock. Some freshwater rock sold as lace rock is not suitable for marine tanks.
 
mbunakid

mbunakid

New Member
I have it in my freshwater setup right now but what are good rocks you can buy that can become live rock?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by mbunakid
I have it in my freshwater setup right now but what are good rocks you can buy that can become live rock?
Simple answer? None.
Live rock, over time in our aquarium loses bio-diversity. You can't expect "dead" rock to develop the diversity of life found on fresh live rock.
If you want to use "base" rock by it from a reputable fish store (or online. Think they still sell it here). That way you know you are getting rock with the correct chemical makeup. Saltwater is much more corrosive than freshwater and can leech harmful minerals out of improper rock.
 
browniebuck

browniebuck

Active Member
One thing that you can do is buy some rock that was formerly live rock (LR taken out of a tank and allowed to dry) and place it in a tank with LS and a couple of pieces of high quality LR to allow the critters and bacteria to reproduce onto the nonLR.
I happen to be a person that is rather fond of Lace rock. I buy from a place outside of Columbus, OH that specializes in lace rock. The place is a coral farm that also sells LR, lace rock, and aquacultured LR. I am not sure if this place ships their rock, but if you would like a link to their site, shoot me an e-mail with the subject of "lace rock"
michaelmcferren@earthlink.net
and send you a link to their website. At their farm, they have a 400 gallon tank that is set up with nothing but lace rock...and it is absolutely freaking beautiful!!!
 
sh00tist

sh00tist

Member
I would not use anything from a freshwater setup in your salt tank. Its great that you are planning ahead this will save you countless heartaches and save you tons of money. I would start looking at buy/sell boards on different forums. People are always tearing down tanks and selling rock well below market price,you should be able to find some close to your area. Since you have plenty of time you can start buying a little at a time of real live rock for baserock price. You will need to buy a 40 or so gallon rubbermaid tote container,these are very inexpensive but priceless. You will need a heater,a powerhead and a halfway decent light,50/50 bulbs will be ok but some cheap power compacts would be better. Mix up some saltwater(use RO water) and add it to the tote when you begin adding your rocks. Try and get different kinds of rock from different sources,I think this adds a lot of diversity to the tank. When you buy from other peoples tanks a lot of times you will get things like snails and crabs and corals/featherdusters that are hiding/clinging to the rock,sometimes you may get some unwelcome hitchhikers but they can come from any rock. Shoot me an email if you want and I will keep an eye out for some LR in your area,I live over in Indy and I am always looking at the boards,going to a 170 teardown today actually hes got about 150 lbs going for $2.50 per all of it covered in all the good stuff, you can reach me here sh00tist@comcast.net hope this helps :}
 
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