planning on grow my own live rock for newbie reef

[rh3173]

I'm in the process of starting my own mini reef. Iwas wonderig if any body has ever started there first reef with about 5 lbs. of live rock and the rest being LFS dried base rock and live sand? Would it be better to use live rock rubble to get the coraline spores i need to get the live rock to start growing in my 20L?




I started out with a 75 gallon fresh water and will convert later on to reef when comfortable!!

 

[Tarasco]

First, welcome to Reef Sanctuary!

Actually, I think that a combination of using live rock, live rock rubble and base rock, along with live sand would do great for you. You are hoping to start off with and maintain a high level of biodiversity in your tank, so getting stuff from various sources should help you out. Eventually the base rock will become colonized with corraline and beneficial bacteria, and will become "live." If you have the option (and money) I would do all live rock, but if money is a concern, then using base rock should be fine. Good luck!

 

[fidojoe]

:welcomera to the Sanctuary!

I agree with Tarasco, just be careful with the base rock, as some of the stuff that the lfs's sell is lava rock, which can contain and leach heavy metals, and other undesireables into your tank. A great place, so I've heard, to get base rock is hirocks, you can get it off ebay for pretty cheap(compared to live rock). It's basically reef rock from hawaii that used to be live a long time ago. I don't have any of this rock, as I started off with all live rock(not nearly enough, but built it up over time), and dead sand, but this method will definately work. You do need to add livestock very slowly, and carefully, especially until the rock is fully live. HTH

 

[TDEVIL]

just wanted to say welcome to RS,

what size will this nano be?
personally, i would do half and half, a little harder on the wallet, but better in the long run, but not a must, your plan will work

and on another note, starting in a smaller system is harder than starting in a larger one, the more water volume the better things will be, i say start with 75g then go with the nano reef, will be more expensive but better in the long run, nano's can fill up pretty quick and you will wish you startd with the 75g

HTH (hope that helped)

TD

 

[fidojoe]

in my 20L?

Here ya go TD

I agree, the 75 would be better to start with, the parameters are going to be more stable, and it will take longer to fill with critters(fish, corals, etc...), however, it is your tank, so do what you are comfortable with doing.

 

[fidojoe]

Also, do you plan on skimming? If you do, I would hold off on the skimmer for a couple months until the rock gets a chance to really grow, because you don't want to skim off all the bacteria and other good stuff before it gets a chance to grow on the lr, IMO.

 

[TDEVIL]

20L duh

thanks for clearing that up, these drugs that the doc has me on are throwing me for a loop

TD

 

[fidojoe]

20L duh

thanks for clearing that up, these drugs that the doc has me on are throwing me for a loop

TD

:LOL:
I didn't notice it untill I reread the post, so you weren't the only one

 

[TDEVIL]

very true, it is your tank, and one of the best pieces of advice that i can give is, ask all the questions that you want, no matter how small the question, then after you get some responses, ask some more questions and do some research

this will help you and us learn more, also remember, just because one thing works for us doesnt always mean it will work for you 100% of the time

i wasnt trying to scare you away from a nano, there are quit a bit of RS members with them, maybe they will see this and could give you a bit better advice than me, where nanos are concerned

and dont be a stranger, let us know how things turn out, and post some pics of your journey, we all love eyecandy

TD

 

[arussell]

I think that I will also try to save some money by purchasing some base rockand a little live rock. Good post rh3173

 

[lcstorc]

It will work, but takes longer. Just keep that in mind. Patience is the most important thing in this hobby and to make base rock truly "live" takes quite a bit of time.
I saw a post (I think from Boomer) a whike abo that spoke of all the different bacteria stages the rock and tank go through. I will look for it later and post if I can find it, but just too early now to see straight. LOL

 

[Gibeon]

Have you considered buying live rock online and curing it at home? It can add a few weeks to the start up time for curing at home, but the savings can be tremendous.

It's usually half the price or even less than my LFS charges - $10/lb. Of course my LFS does not have the best quality LR - low coralline and pretty bare in general.

 

[Frankie]

Great info everyone. I think theres one thing here everyone needs to be aware of, Live sand can cause big troubles. I tried it once in a 30 gal. anemone tank and had big cyno troubles. No matter how much phos remover i used it just kept coming back. I came to realize (with some help from woodstock) that it was the live sand. it really makes sence now. How can it really be alive after being sealed up in a bag for months to years, siting on a shelf. Tempetures rising and falling, and God know what before we buy it and add it to a new system. Its like adding dead polution to a tank, not live. I would just wait for dry substrate to be populated from the Live rock. On the base issue half and half like Tdevil said is a great way to start if you want to save some $$ for other stuff you will need.

 

[boozeman]

many people use dry base rock, some also use ceramic, and others decide to DIY with concrete and plastic shavings...in the end it eventually all looks the same...it all depends on how long you want to wait.

 

[Tarasco]

Wow, talk about brining up an old thread!

 

[boozeman]

till you mentioned it...I didn't think to look at the dates...I'm sure that whatever the method the original poster chose worked out fine...be nice if they posted a pic update

 

[DELSOL650]

Have you tried REEFERROCKS.com. I got 50 lbs. from them which I added to my 100LBS of TampaBaySaltwater coral deco rocks. You can also give TBS a try since if you buy the package from them the rocks turn to be like $3-5 lbs. that with Live sand, rocks and clean up crew. The only thing you would have to deal with is bad critters that you would have to hunt for prior to adding them to the tank.