F
fish fool
Guest
I was wanting to buy some rock from my lfs and make my my own lr. My question is if I put it in my tank with the 15lbs of existing lr will that be enough to seed the plain rock or will I need to do something else?
sonny
Member
That will work fine. Just be careful not to overload the system with too many animals at first. It does take time for the bacteria and other fauna to grow on the new rocks. They aren't really live for at least a few weeks. You can actually even make the rocks yourself out of cement. Get Portland cement and mix it with oyster shells (available in bags from farm supply places) or crushed coral, or pieces of dead coral skeletons (broken pieces, etc.), and then form them into shapes you like. Make the mix sort of dry, not very liquid-like. You can form them in a large plastic container with more oyster shells to act as a liner. After that, it takes a while to cure them so they are safe in an aquarium. Let them sit in fresh water for 3-5 weeks, changing the water every few days. To be sure they are cured, check the ph of the fresh water. If it's not over 8.4, it should be safe. At first the ph will be 12 or 13! You have to be patient to make your own rock, but once it gets covered by coralline algae, you can't tell the difference from stuff taken out of the ocean.
Sonny
Sonny