6th Period Biology

tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
Could it be that you need a bigger magnet? Sounds like the glass is too thick for the magnet that you have. I can get mine around the corners and not have it float away.
 
Rougiem

Rougiem

Ichthy Inquisitor
PREMIUM
tb: Our mag float is the right one...not sure what the problem is...:D

FINALLY!!! We got the laptops going full bore, so now my students can post at school or at home!
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
I think they are moving too fast around the corners. At least that is where I get in trouble. :)
Congrats on getting the laptops up and running.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Live Rock is ocean rock that has been "colonized" by living sea critters.. .this could be sponges, feather dusters, but mostly it pertains to the beneficial bacteria that is desired to grow and become part of your Biological Filtration System in a reef tank.

Allen
 
tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
The beneficial bacteria makes up the nitrogen cycle. Food, fish waste (poo, urine), dead things, all decay and turn into ammonia. There is one bacteria that turns the ammonia into nitrites. There is another bacterial that turns nitrites into nitrates. There is an additional bacterial or organism (such as macro algae, Chaeto for instance) that will turn nitrates into nitrogen gas which is then expelled into the air.

Ammonia and nitrites can quickly kill living things, such as fish and corals. Nitrates, in low quantities are tolerated by the living things, but most of them prefer zero nitrates. Other corals, seem to thrive in "dirty water".

When live rock is first purchased, it typically needs to be "cycled". This means placing it in salt water and letting the beneficial bacteria get established. This process can be measured and observed by testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You would usually see a spike in ammonia with little or no nitrites and nitrates. Then ammonia would drop and the nitrites would spike. Once again, typically little or no nitrates. Then the nitrites will drop and nitrates will rise. In a new tank, about the only way to get rid of the nitrates is through water changes.

During the cycle, we try to not let ammonia and nitrites get too high because it can kill other live things that came on the rock. We control the toxic levels by performing water changes. The cycle usually takes 4-6 weeks to complete. Now you are ready to SLOWLY add other live things, such as fish. We do it slowly so the bacterias can reproduce and expand to keep up with the additional biological load. After adding the first fish, it's recommended to wait about 4 weeks before adding another one.

I'm sure I missed a whole lot of stuff, but that's it in a nutshell. :)
 
Craig Manoukian

Craig Manoukian

Well-Known Member
Artificial live rock, base rock or cinder blocks, or other porous (ie metals) can be seeded by the ammonia cycle and become "live rock". You can see the wreckage of ships in the ocean that has been colonized into "live rock". You can make base rock by mixing a cement like material and sculpting your own rocks and then seed them.

Any surface, including sand, can support the denitrifying (nitrates/nitrogen) bacteria which converts ammonia (toxic to fish), to nitrites (toxic to invertibrates), to nitrates (food for photosynthetic bacteria/algae) and finally nitrogen gas that leaves the water column (gas exchange). The photo sythetic bacteria is what gives many corals and ornamental clams their vibrant colors.

Live Rock is generally attributed to rock that has been harvested from the sea. But the term really means that the pourous rocks, metal and/or sand have live bacterial colonies that process the ammonia excreted from the gills of fish (their urine), or decaying organic material (food, feces, etc.) into a harmless gas. This is known as the dentrifying process.

Ciao,
Craig
 
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