new setup - base rock - useful/useless???

[sgt__york]

Boy do i feel rusty...
I have a 75 gallon tank i'm RE-setting up. I had it going for about 5yrs.. but took the past 2yrs off and find myself re-learning everything i have forgotten, and never knew... lol
Anyways.. my issue.. BAES rock - or dead live rock. Is it of any true use???
I have a TON of rock - that use to be live rock from the former tank. I have cleaned it extensively, and let it sun dry.
I've been told it's good for 'base' rock and then just put a few pieces of LIVE rock on top of them. The reasoning i've been told is, any rock not in direct lighting tends to have things die-off it anyways.
HOWEVER, as nice as some of the shapes of these rocks are, I have a problem with them being so pure white - washed out. How will they look with live rock around them? Won't the differnce in color make them stand out and bring out their live-lessness?? I have 3 large flat shelf pieces, and tons of nice cave-maker pieces. But i'm just not sure whether they are 'trash' and worthless now - and THUS go thru the entire expense of ALL new live rock now - OR if they have genuine usefullness that will genuinely look good.
Has anyone had experience using 'base rock' successfully? I'd love to gleem from others experience here. I'm anxious to get this system setup and start my cycling

 

[frankl15207]

I used a single piece of carved coral from a fish only setup from years ago. It does stand out when everything else is purchased live. The rock was very porous and a nice piece that fit perfectly with where I needed it.
It has been in the tank for about a month now and is starting to develope coraline and it blends in a little better with the surrounding rock. Hopefully in another month it will disappear into the rockwork.
Since the rock that you are using used to be live, it should seed nicely with bacteria with the addition of a few pieces of live rock. It may just take longer to get there.

 

[sgt__york]

hmm... only a month? How much of a 'base' rock was it??
The pieces that i have - altho were seeded - are well.. hmm... how do i put this.. DEAD! lol
The rock has been in an empty tank for 1.5yrs inactive. From recommendations from the local fish store, to remove all possible problems with decay/bacteria, etc... i have cleaned the rock - including a light bleach rinsing - and let out to dry in the sun for several days. Right now it is pure white and porous. Some of it still has stains of the purple, but i can't imagine anything being re-seedable. But I don't know - that's why i'm asking
I've heard it said that the live rock will eventually seed to the other rock - but even if it were a 50/50 mix - i imagine it taking years if not decades! lol
I'm so ready to start building and get my system up w/some live rock. I find myself torn from throwing out so much 'possibly' useful base rock - esp at the pennance of live rock expense.
I appreciate everyone's insight into my delima.

 

[cap'n pete]

Well, it all depends on what you want here. If you are only going to use these pieces as base and completely cover them up with live rock I don't see a problem. If you have pieces exposed, yes eventually you could get coraline back on them. More likely however, you will get all kinds of nasty algea since there is no coraline to compete for light. A well functioning reef tank would only take a few months to cover bare rock with coraline, however those rocks would have to remain bare. Coraline will not grow over existing algea. HTH

 

[byrself]

a good clean up crew would probably do wonders for the dead rock. clean it up nicely. i think it would be okay after a while, although you might want to consider cureing it all over again in a separate tank or container, just in case it has any contaminants from being stored dry. good luck.

 

[frankl15207]

Originally posted by sgt__york:
<strong>hmm... only a month? How much of a 'base' rock was it??
</strong><hr></blockquote>
It was a single piece. I already had 60 lbs or so of live rock in the tank and the piece that was added is in contact with it on three sides and the front.

 

[rick58]

Garf.org has some good info on growing coraline on stuff. Their recipe worked for me.

 

[nacl-h2o]

It only took about a couple of months before the base I had exposed to light was being covered with coraline and in about 6 mounths you couldn't tell the difference at all. And in a simular amount of time any LR which can't get light will bleach out so using base is fine and will save you $$$ in the long run

 

[kens]

sgt york i purchased some base rock off ----, it took about 2 months for algae and stuff to grow on it, it was white but is now green and red with corraline algae taking over. looks real good

 

[sgt__york]

Thanks everyone for ur input.
I got the tank up and running again (75 gal) - i used about 40 lbs of the base rock - to create 3 tier's, and 2 large FLAG pieces of figi i had to create shelves and caves (going for a bleacher/cave placement).
I just introduced 20lb of figi cured live rock - to help begin the cycling process (along with 6 damsels) and to introduce some culture off the live rock. I didn't want to introduce too much rock at once - as the first cycle might kill off too much of what's on the live rock. In 2mo's or so - when the primary cycle is over - i'll introduce a few more pieces of live rock - until i get all the rock in there i want. THEN i'll start going after the few fish i want. I'll then wait again for 2months of balance after fish are introduced before i begin looking at corals.
Does this sound pretty feasible?
I"ve got to say.. the base rock doesn't look HALf as bad as i imagined. Yes, there is a huge color difference in the live rock and base.. BUT.. the ground cover i'm using is crushed aggregate for PH buffing and it's white also - so it's actually a nice transition.
And heck - maybe i'll get to spend the next 6mo's or so watching life begin to grow back on soe of the exposed surface areas.
patience.. the curse and joy of the hobby
Thanks again for everyon's input - saved tons of $$$ and i'm really quite happy with how things are looking
PS: Altho i use a couple of 802 powerheads on the backside for current along the BACK of the tank, I am using a couple of power sweeps by Zoomed aquatics (PS-40's; 270 GPH) for front water movement - as they have circulating heads - WOW.. for anyone who hasn't used them, just gotta say they are MOST impressive. I put a small cotton ball in the tank to watch how the currents are running - the way they change things up are wonderful! Can't wait to get coral ON the shelving to see the movement they create.