Is this rock safe? And ID on these, anyone?

[kleinn]

Okay, first question-of-the-day: Does anyone know if this rock is okay for a reef tank? It has a chalky texture and it was in a FW tank for several years, it has been bleached and rinsed and dried, but I have no idea if it will put anything in my water that is bad for SW fauna.

Here's the aquascaping as of right now. What do you think?

And finally, does anyone know what these little things are? They appeared in my tank yesterday morning after I fed the tank frozen brine shrimp to start the cycle the night before. The tank has been up for about 4 days.

I really appreciate all you guys! This site rocks!

 

[mr_bill]

Hard to tell about the rock, but I wouldn't put anything from a FW tank into a SW tank. There are just too many chances for medications leaching into the rock and then killing inverts later.
The dropping look like turbo snail waste to me.

 

[saltn00b]

agreeing with bill on the turbo turds... yea i wouldnt use antything that was in a FW tank, it has lead to problems almost everytime, except for when i put them in the QT for some 'sterile' hiding places. i dont think bleach is a good idea to be introduced into your tank, and would take that thing out immediately. also IMHO it doesnt look natural at all, and instead looks forced.

 

[romeo]

Got a good thing started. Take the rocks out! bill seems to know his stuff. Any damsels in there for cycling? ( sp?)

 

[kleinn]

What's IMHO?

 

[kleinn]

Rocks are out! It was my FW tank they were in and I know they have never been in contact with medication, but I'm sure you guys are right that it's better safe than sorry. No damsels. Just a big turbo, (sweet score on a hitchhiker, thanks for the ID on the turbo turds BTW

) and about 1/2 a gram of dead brine shrimp. I heard that I wouldn't need a fish to cycle if I seeded the tank, but should I put a damsel in there? That would be a heck of a lot more interesting to watch than 27lbs of rock.

 

[bluelagoon]

you can cycle a tank perfectly fine without a damsel. and they can be hard as anything to get out of there since they can be terretorial (sp?) and mean. cycling also creates lots of ammonia, which will burn the fishes' gills. not nice!

 

[mr_bill]

Originally Posted by kleinn
Rocks are out! It was my FW tank they were in and I know they have never been in contact with medication, but I'm sure you guys are right that it's better safe than sorry. No damsels. Just a big turbo, (sweet score on a hitchhiker, thanks for the ID on the turbo turds BTW

) and about 1/2 a gram of dead brine shrimp. I heard that I wouldn't need a fish to cycle if I seeded the tank, but should I put a damsel in there? That would be a heck of a lot more interesting to watch than 27lbs of rock.
Pretend there is a fish in your tank right now, yes go wacky with it and even name him.
Ok, so feed little whats his face every day with a small pinch of food.
Your ammonia will rise then fall, and little whats his face will surprise you with his immunity to such poor conditions. Now your nitrites will rise and fall, and still little whats his face carries on.
You'll now notice that when you feed little whats his face your levels don't budge at all, you are now ready to say goodbye to little whats his face and back to the real world where you can have a fish other people see besides you.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by bluelagoon
you can cycle a tank perfectly fine without a damsel. and they can be hard as anything to get out of there since they can be terretorial (sp?) and mean. cycling also creates lots of ammonia, which will burn the fishes' gills. not nice!
Couldn't have said it much better...
And Mr. Bill, nice little story there

 

[wax32]

Pretend there is a fish in your tank right now, yes go wacky with it and even name him.
Ok, so feed little whats his face every day with a small pinch of food.
Your ammonia will rise then fall, and little whats his face will surprise you with his immunity to such poor conditions. Now your nitrites will rise and fall, and still little whats his face carries on.
You'll now notice that when you feed little whats his face your levels don't budge at all, you are now ready to say goodbye to little whats his face and back to the real world where you can have a fish other people see besides you.
I like it! Good advice.

 

[coachklm]

Originally Posted by wax32
Pretend there is a fish in your tank right now, yes go wacky with it and even name him.
Ok, so feed little whats his face every day with a small pinch of food.
Your ammonia will rise then fall, and little whats his face will surprise you with his immunity to such poor conditions. Now your nitrites will rise and fall, and still little whats his face carries on.
You'll now notice that when you feed little whats his face your levels don't budge at all, you are now ready to say goodbye to little whats his face and back to the real world where you can have a fish other people see besides you.
I like it! Good advice.

name him billy the butt-fish
do a search if you dont get get the full joke "butt-fish"

 

[mr_bill]

Originally Posted by coachKLM

name him billy the butt-fish
do a search if you dont get get the full joke "butt-fish"

I'll do that when I get home. I'm betting I get some pretty strange search responses that work wouldn't like with that one.

 

[coachklm]

sorry it was -- that had the butt-fish symbiotic relationship with a cuke

 

[ophiura]

The rock seems to be limestone (aka "holey rock") and is commonly sold as base rock for saltwater systems. If you look at it, you may very well see fossil shells, etc. It is not much different from what "live rock" is...it is all old coral reef/carbonate sediment. Fine, IMO, so long as you are ABSOLUTELY sure that it has not had any medication (including things like copper).

 

[razelynn]

texas holey rock to be precise.

 

[salty tank]

if that were my tank id say take out the FW rocks and only keep in that live rock. I love that rock you have on the left side. I think the FW rocks look out of place.

 

[misty927]

I'm agreeing with the above post...I've had limestone in my tank before as base rock and it was great and seeded nicely. I had no problems whatsoever...

 

[ophiura]

Yup, in general this is used as a "base rock" and the more expensive live rock is used as "facing" if you will, to cover the rock below. A great way to save money...especially in larger systems. I also use it in my QT tank.