robvia
Member
I need a little explanation of “live rock” and “cured live rock.” The way I understand it, live rock is rock from the ocean that has bacteria living on it. This bacteria is what processes the nitrogen cycle. The rock has many holes giving it lots of surface area. Many here talk about having lots of live rock in there tank. It seems there are different reasons why people want to see more rock.
From a bacteria view, what is the difference in the substrate of sand or crushed coral and the rock? Does more water move over the rock since it is more out in the open in the water? Does this offer better filtration? When people talk about filtration, do they really mean that it helps the nitrogen cycle better. If you have a sump with bio-balls does it offer a similar filtration as the live rock? Does it really matter where the bacteria is in your system, or does it only matter that it is in there somewhere?
If your rock ends up growing something you don’t want in your tank, such as red algae, what do you do? I started with some rock from a friend. I didn’t really know what all the stuff on it was at first. After I put it in my tank at the start, before any fish where in it, I found out most of it was nuisance algae. It was suggested that I clean it with bleach to get the unwanted stuff off. Since the tank was not finished, I removed all the rocks from my tank. I didn’t really want all the rocks that were in there anyway. I picked the ones I wanted to keep and cleaned with bleach and a brush. I even went so far as to use a Dremel tool brush to get off the stuff I couldn’t get off with a toothbrush. I put this cleaned rock back in the tank. At this point it would be just rock, I guess, because all the bacteria would have died in the cleaning process. Once it has been in the tank and has bacteria and algae growing on it again, will it be considered “live rock?”
I want to be able to see the fish I have, so I don’t really want to have a lot of rock and I don’t really have the experience to create a full reef yet. I have a few fish and crab and anemones. I want to add shrimp and more of what I have. People are saying they would like to see more live rock in the tank. That will give algae eaters, like my tang, room to graze along the rock. It will also give it many places to hide which it likes to do.
There are different kinds of live rock. Is that just where they are from and what type of bacteria typically grow on them?
What is the difference in “cured live rock” and “live rock?”
Thanks for all the help,
Rob
From a bacteria view, what is the difference in the substrate of sand or crushed coral and the rock? Does more water move over the rock since it is more out in the open in the water? Does this offer better filtration? When people talk about filtration, do they really mean that it helps the nitrogen cycle better. If you have a sump with bio-balls does it offer a similar filtration as the live rock? Does it really matter where the bacteria is in your system, or does it only matter that it is in there somewhere?
If your rock ends up growing something you don’t want in your tank, such as red algae, what do you do? I started with some rock from a friend. I didn’t really know what all the stuff on it was at first. After I put it in my tank at the start, before any fish where in it, I found out most of it was nuisance algae. It was suggested that I clean it with bleach to get the unwanted stuff off. Since the tank was not finished, I removed all the rocks from my tank. I didn’t really want all the rocks that were in there anyway. I picked the ones I wanted to keep and cleaned with bleach and a brush. I even went so far as to use a Dremel tool brush to get off the stuff I couldn’t get off with a toothbrush. I put this cleaned rock back in the tank. At this point it would be just rock, I guess, because all the bacteria would have died in the cleaning process. Once it has been in the tank and has bacteria and algae growing on it again, will it be considered “live rock?”
I want to be able to see the fish I have, so I don’t really want to have a lot of rock and I don’t really have the experience to create a full reef yet. I have a few fish and crab and anemones. I want to add shrimp and more of what I have. People are saying they would like to see more live rock in the tank. That will give algae eaters, like my tang, room to graze along the rock. It will also give it many places to hide which it likes to do.
There are different kinds of live rock. Is that just where they are from and what type of bacteria typically grow on them?
What is the difference in “cured live rock” and “live rock?”
Thanks for all the help,
Rob
