? about base rock...

[BlueNano22]

Now, a neat little fish store near wher I live now sells base rock for like $1.45lb. Now I think i'm going to go and buy some of that...is there anything special I need to know about it? And is everything dead on it, or can some things still be alive?
THANKS!

Weston

 

[Illuminati]

You need to make sure it's cured.

Base rock is just plain, almost unattractive, pieces of rock that wouldn't be the best as a showcase. Usually people with big aquariums get nice pieces of liverock to cover up the blah baserock.

If it's cured and you like it go for it. Do you trust this LFS not to sell you uncured rock as cured? Adding uncured will cause another cycle and deaths if you have any critters.

 

[Rosseau]

Do you mean its just dried rock that is sitting in dry bins?

That shouldn't need any curing.


However, if it once had life, and it's been sitting out for a while everything will be dead. If that's the case I would still give it a good cleaning. Non-decayed animals living in/on the rock could start to decompose once put into your tank.

 

[BlueNano22]

Alrighty...thanks a bunch! And yea, it's just sitting in a bin all dried up. So should I put it in some salt water. Or is it even possible to place it in fresh water?

 

[Illuminati]

Then it's uncured, can't add it right to the tank unless it's empty. Any fishies or inverts in there?

 

[BlueNano22]

Yea, my 3 Stripe Damsel, a turbo snail, and some hermits. So i'm tryin' to be careful.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

is it dead live rock or is it lace rock?

if it is lace rock then i believe you have to wash and cook it, and it should be fine to add to a tank...

the same would be true for once live base rock..sitting in bins...clean it cook it add it...it wont / shouldnt cycle your tank..

how much are you adding to what size tank?

 

[BlueNano22]

oh...well, its a 10g, and I only have about 6lbs in there now, so i'm thinkin' maybe another six, or is that too much or too little? Now how do you "cook" base rock?

 

[joejoe1055]

i would let it soak in super hot water
then make sure u rinse it a few times before proceeding
in time u may get some nice growth on the rock and they will be pretty

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i would expect that a 10 gallon tank should have about 15 pounds of rock, for filtration...if you already have base rock then i would suggest doing the rest of your tank with live rock..

 

[BlueNano22]

oh no...I already have about 6lbs or so of LR. So I'm thinkin' i'll get another 6lbs of base rock.

 

[BlueNano22]

so i'm probably goin' to pick up my base rock tomorrow if i can, so should i boil some water then scrub the base rock with it?

 

[BlueNano22]

???