Will Rock become live?

[jjj5311]

Not sure if this is a stupid question but wondering with my GSP tank will be going from FW to full marine in the next few months slowly bringing up the SG .002 at a WC....

Wondering if reqular rock and substrate will become live on thier own or if they need another live material to seed them? Just wondering if i will have to spend lots of $$ of Live rock or if i can just buy a very holy rock and it will become live?

Thanks

[Pufferpunk]

You will have to "seed" it with live rock that has been in the ocean or around other LR, from an established tank.

[jjj5311]

Okay that is what i thought but i wasnt sure.

Is there a rule for how much LR you need to put in to seed the tank? It is a 38 Gallon tank and i plan to get about 60 lbs of Rock...

I dont really care how long it takes for the rest of the rock to become live.

Anything else i should know about Liverock or going full marine?

[xrayjeeper83]

if you do 50% live 50% not live from what ive read could take upwards of 6 months to be fully established.

[jjj5311]

alright so i should do at least 50% established LR?

Also does anyone have any concerns or issues of buying LR off craiglist? I have seen a lot of it lately from people getting out the Salt water tanks and selling entire setups/liverock.

Is there anything i need to look out for in particular when looking at it or is most of the "liveness" beneficial?

[Purifire]

If time is not an issue you could do a LOT less than a 50/50 ratio but I wouldn't advise it. The sheer bio-diversity of more surface area of established LR IMHO is worth $$. I did maybe 60/40 ratio favoring base rock, and wish I had just pocketed out the money to get some big, holey boulders that might have had more interesting hitch hikers. ( I got a bristle worm, some stars, and apastia, grr ) But if you wanna do something like a time consuming mass-seed project it WILL be cheap, only requires patience and good housekeeping params wise to speed up the process. If you are seeding, lowering both SG and temp, as well as increasing current are all time savers from what I understand. I advise that if you have an ambitious amount in mind that you seed eleswhere from your main tank. A Rubbermaid tub is even fine, just heat and circulate... Correct me if I'm wrong here guys but Carbon filtration in a setup like that wouldn't be needed or wanted, right?
(I used some carbon media but only because I was under the erroneous assumption it would be needed to introduce nitrifying bacteria) I think a Powerhead, heat, and good testing/maintenance will get your rock up to par.
A note about "making" your own live rock... There are different types out there so do some research and find out what works best for your puffer, I believe they can have different effects on your chemistry and tank balance. Personally I went with Fiji cultured LR. Regardless of what you pick, you will be able to actually SEE the changes occur in whatever rock you should choose to seed. I have spread colonies of filter-feeders between rocks by leaning them against each other for a week, one "live" rock against a "dead" one, etc. Also, you always have the option of literally MAKING your base rock. Idk what the URL is but saw an EXCELLENT vid on youtube about it. If you choose to mold your own rocks be aware however that most recepies will cause Ph problems until they stabilize chemically. Sorry to be so long winded, just showing some options you could concieveably go with. Best of luck

LIVEROCK IS AWESOME!!!

[LilGreenPuffer]

Also, you always have the option of literally MAKING your base rock. Idk what the URL is but saw an EXCELLENT vid on youtube about it. If you choose to mold your own rocks be aware however that most recepies will cause Ph problems until they stabilize chemically.

Dadof4 has done this, and apparently it went great. He can probably point you to some good directions.

[jjj5311]

Thanks everyone for clearing that up. Sounds like i will try to get majority LR and start with that... to seed just a couple of smaller "dead" rocks. I am pumped to see all of the critters and hitch hikers that come along with the rock!!!!

[J-P]

it depends on what you call "love rock". If it is just a medium to house beneficial bacteria any old stone will do. If you want the critters than yes, you will have to introduce some rock from the ocean or cultivated rock with critters.

1 ~ 1.5 lbs per gallon is a rule of thumb. If you are cultivating your own dry rock (ie Marco Rocks or similar) you could go less because the dry and wet weight are different.

[xrayjeeper83]

J-P can you explain what "love rock" is please?????? LMAO

I got some LR and was actually disappointed not to get any hitchhickers, so this weekend im going to go get some more and hope to get some

[J-P]

love rock is a typo of live rock .. the "o" and the "i" are too closely related on the keyboard

[geronimo69]

love rock is a typo of live rock .. the "o" and the "i" are too closely related on the keyboard

That sucks... I was hoping "love rock" was some kinda new LR that attracts more critters...

[Tim]

love rock is a typo of live rock .. the "o" and the "i" are too closely related on the keyboard

That sucks... I was hoping "love rock" was some kinda new LR that attracts more critters...

Maybe it will make the puffer fall in love with it and in the process not eat all the expensive coral