is there a number of days that you can assume the dry rock you added to already existing live rock becomes live itself??
thank you for replies
thank you for replies
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how long before dry rock becomes live?
- Thread starter professorbadnews
- Start date
To many variables to give you a "x day" answer, depends how much dry rock to live rock, how long the system has been running, total water volume, etc. To become "live" the bacteria that inhabit the existing live rock need to multiply and move into the previously dried rock. IME whether or not you have a cycle adding dry rock to your tank depends on where the rock was from, how much (if any) dried organics were trapped in it, and how much LR you already had in your system.
For example I recently upgraded to a 70g, I purchased 50lbs of marcorocks dry rock (at least 100lbs when wet) and put 90% into my new tank, this tank also had a new sandbed. I didn't realize how much dried organics had been in the rock and it immediately started me on a strong cycle (not a big deal I was planning to cycle it anyways with some of my existing LR). However I've also added smaller pieces of the same dried rock to my established 24g aquapod which is already loaded with very live rock and never noticed anything at all on my tests. The rock added to my aquapod quickly starts looking like all the other rock in the tank. Where as with the previously mentioned 70g I only added a few pieces of my old LR so it's taking much longer to color up etc (however bacteria wise took several weeks to fully cycle, with the addition of some filter squeezings from my other tanks, some LR, and then I added a pouch of biospira before transfering my livestock over for good measure)
So I pretty much didn't answer your question LOL but hope I gave you a bit of an idea of what you might run into.
For example I recently upgraded to a 70g, I purchased 50lbs of marcorocks dry rock (at least 100lbs when wet) and put 90% into my new tank, this tank also had a new sandbed. I didn't realize how much dried organics had been in the rock and it immediately started me on a strong cycle (not a big deal I was planning to cycle it anyways with some of my existing LR). However I've also added smaller pieces of the same dried rock to my established 24g aquapod which is already loaded with very live rock and never noticed anything at all on my tests. The rock added to my aquapod quickly starts looking like all the other rock in the tank. Where as with the previously mentioned 70g I only added a few pieces of my old LR so it's taking much longer to color up etc (however bacteria wise took several weeks to fully cycle, with the addition of some filter squeezings from my other tanks, some LR, and then I added a pouch of biospira before transfering my livestock over for good measure)
So I pretty much didn't answer your question LOL but hope I gave you a bit of an idea of what you might run into.
Not really. While, strictly speaking it will become "live" in a matter of minutes by being seeded with free floating bacterias attaching to its surface, it will probably take a few weeks for those bacterias to multiply enough to colonize the whole rock and (what is more important) by establishing the balance among themselves and with their environment (rock, water, nutrients, gas exchange, lights etc), start substantially contributing to the life cycle. The whole process of rock colonization never stops because there are bunch of other creatures that attach or burrow in the rocks all the time, and which all actively contribute to the cycle.
Actually from a bacteria standpoint there is very little difference from dead and live rock. Unless you get your rock shipped in salt water almost all the bacteria itself will be dead upon arrival. It doesn't take long at all for the bacteria to die off. But it really doesn't matter.
Once you put any rock into the system the rock will develop bacteria in no time. The bacteria we care about can double in population every 48 hours or so and does not need a starter.
Now coralline algae and other rock creatures are another story and need to be introduced into the tank. Most rock is pretty void of inverts and whatnot (at least the cheaper rock). The biggest reason to mix live rock with dead rock is to introduce the different shades of Coraline algae. If you don't mind waiting it out for it to reproduce on it's own you only need a small piece of rock with the colors you want. Put it in a semi-shaded area (not directly in the light) with a powerhead blowing over it and it will spread pretty quickly. At about 3 months you'll have some nice colors growing on the rock and at about 6 months with good water conditions it can look substantially better then most "live rock" you would buy at the store.
Again it's really a personal thing if you want to start out looking "pretty" or save money and let the colors develop on their own. You can always pick up a bottle of pods to introduce to the tank (good idea) and add a package of BIO-Spira marine (bacteria) to kick things off. That combined with adding a piece of flake food per 25 gallons of water every day to the tank will keep the bacteria will a food supply and keep the nitrogen cycle going so the bacteria doesn't die off from lack of food. If you like things like bristle worms and other similar creatures you can get these pretty cheap and add them. What I like about base rock is that you CAN control what gets added to the tank and not have bad hitch hikers. With that said I don't think most rock you get these days is full of enough life to worry about getting bad things (expect parasites).
The above is just my opinion and there are many different opinions on live rock but if you are buying it for the purpose of bacteria and the nitrogen cycle, don't worry about the type of rock. It all works for that purpose. The more porous the better however.
Carlo
Once you put any rock into the system the rock will develop bacteria in no time. The bacteria we care about can double in population every 48 hours or so and does not need a starter.
Now coralline algae and other rock creatures are another story and need to be introduced into the tank. Most rock is pretty void of inverts and whatnot (at least the cheaper rock). The biggest reason to mix live rock with dead rock is to introduce the different shades of Coraline algae. If you don't mind waiting it out for it to reproduce on it's own you only need a small piece of rock with the colors you want. Put it in a semi-shaded area (not directly in the light) with a powerhead blowing over it and it will spread pretty quickly. At about 3 months you'll have some nice colors growing on the rock and at about 6 months with good water conditions it can look substantially better then most "live rock" you would buy at the store.
Again it's really a personal thing if you want to start out looking "pretty" or save money and let the colors develop on their own. You can always pick up a bottle of pods to introduce to the tank (good idea) and add a package of BIO-Spira marine (bacteria) to kick things off. That combined with adding a piece of flake food per 25 gallons of water every day to the tank will keep the bacteria will a food supply and keep the nitrogen cycle going so the bacteria doesn't die off from lack of food. If you like things like bristle worms and other similar creatures you can get these pretty cheap and add them. What I like about base rock is that you CAN control what gets added to the tank and not have bad hitch hikers. With that said I don't think most rock you get these days is full of enough life to worry about getting bad things (expect parasites).
The above is just my opinion and there are many different opinions on live rock but if you are buying it for the purpose of bacteria and the nitrogen cycle, don't worry about the type of rock. It all works for that purpose. The more porous the better however.
Carlo