Reef Sanctuary - View Single Post

tbittner · 03-14-2008, 04:54 PM

JoJo,

I was reading about dry rock and I came across this at WetWebMedia. They're a great site with lots of good information but just like everywhere, I don't think there is a Holy Grail for this hobby.

Reusing Dried Rock...Not Always Good - 09/29/06
Hello,
<<Howdy>>
I was doing some research on live rock and could not come across
anything on this.
<<Okay>>
I currently bought a saltwater aquarium from a friend who decided to quit the hobby. I bought the aquarium about 3 or 4 months after
he had drained his aquarium, and he left his 30 lbs. of live rock outside in the sun for that amount of time.
<<"Live" no more...>>
So I took it deciding I might could use it later to maybe seed it with fresh live rock.
<<Will never be "the same" again>>
Ok so here goes, is the live rock officially dead?
<<...as the proverbial doornail>>
I assumed it was so I placed it in a garden pond with goldfish outside of my house to let it just sit, but red algae is now
starting to grow on the rock.
<<Yikes! Depending on the size of the pond, this rock can raise the pH well beyond what is comfortable/healthy for the goldfish. At the very least, the (likely) low pH of the pond will have sapped much of the buffering capacity from this rock>>
I was just wondering why this is happening, because I'm not expecting anything to happen, and this is freshwater.
<<This has nothing to do with whether the water is "salted" or not. You've seen algae grow on rock in fresh water haven't you? Same thing happening here...though this rock likely had dead/dried organic matter deep inside that once the rock re-hydrated, is now contributing to a Cyanobacteria bloom on the surface of the rock. Nothing strange going on here>>
I was just going to use it in the new tank after a while to see if it could be seeded from other live rock.
<<Could be used as "base" rock (after a few soakings/rinsings), but will never regain the biota it once had and may have little if any buffering capacity left. Personally, I wouldn’t use this rock to build a captive reef...maybe break up/use for frag bases>>
Any information would be great, just wondering why its growing red algae. What’s going on?
<<As explained>>
Thanks, Cody
<<Regards, EricR>>

03-14-2008, 04:54 PM	#169 (permalink)
tbittner Watch this Ma! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 5,562 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My slow 135g build JoJo, I was reading about dry rock and I came across this at WetWebMedia. They're a great site with lots of good information but just like everywhere, I don't think there is a Holy Grail for this hobby. Reusing Dried Rock...Not Always Good - 09/29/06 Hello, <<Howdy>> I was doing some research on live rock and could not come across anything on this. <<Okay>> I currently bought a saltwater aquarium from a friend who decided to quit the hobby. I bought the aquarium about 3 or 4 months after he had drained his aquarium, and he left his 30 lbs. of live rock outside in the sun for that amount of time. <<"Live" no more...>> So I took it deciding I might could use it later to maybe seed it with fresh live rock. <<Will never be "the same" again>> Ok so here goes, is the live rock officially dead? <<...as the proverbial doornail>> I assumed it was so I placed it in a garden pond with goldfish outside of my house to let it just sit, but red algae is now starting to grow on the rock. <<Yikes! Depending on the size of the pond, this rock can raise the pH well beyond what is comfortable/healthy for the goldfish. At the very least, the (likely) low pH of the pond will have sapped much of the buffering capacity from this rock>> I was just wondering why this is happening, because I'm not expecting anything to happen, and this is freshwater. <<This has nothing to do with whether the water is "salted" or not. You've seen algae grow on rock in fresh water haven't you? Same thing happening here...though this rock likely had dead/dried organic matter deep inside that once the rock re-hydrated, is now contributing to a Cyanobacteria bloom on the surface of the rock. Nothing strange going on here>> I was just going to use it in the new tank after a while to see if it could be seeded from other live rock. <<Could be used as "base" rock (after a few soakings/rinsings), but will never regain the biota it once had and may have little if any buffering capacity left. Personally, I wouldn’t use this rock to build a captive reef...maybe break up/use for frag bases>> Any information would be great, just wondering why its growing red algae. What’s going on? <<As explained>> Thanks, Cody <<Regards, EricR>> __________________ Terry 150g predator tank full of killers. Soon to be upgraded to a 360g. 450g reef 300g sump.