Extracting bacteria from Live Rock

[JennyFlow]

So I'm new but had an idea, wondering if anyone has done it or has thoughts. People debate dry vs live rock and lots of the live rock proponents talk about all the beneficial bacteria that come with live rock.

What if I placed live rock from say FL in a container with some powerheads, then drained that water through a filter sock, which would mostly just allow the bacteria through. If I then took that bacteria laden water and placed dead rock in there, could this work?

I just dont want hitchhikers, I also thought maybe adding some small pieces of the rock that I could go over with a fine tooth comb. are there things that would be considered pests that could come through the sock, tiny pieces of algae maybe? Or are most of the pests people talk about larger? Thoughts?

 

[mcgyvr]

Very little bacteria is free floating in the water..most is surface dwelling...
Your plan wont work too well...

IMO hitchhikers are the best part of this hobby...and are rarely a problem..too many spend too much time/energy avoiding them..
Stop worrying about them..

 

[mcgyvr]

And the most useful bacteria is deep in the rock in the low oxygen areas and is certainly not something you can extract

 

[Daddi0]

So I'm new but had an idea, wondering if anyone has done it or has thoughts. People debate dry vs live rock and lots of the live rock proponents talk about all the beneficial bacteria that come with live rock.

What if I placed live rock from say FL in a container with some powerheads, then drained that water through a filter sock, which would mostly just allow the bacteria through. If I then took that bacteria laden water and placed dead rock in there, could this work?

I just dont want hitchhikers, I also thought maybe adding some small pieces of the rock that I could go over with a fine tooth comb. are there things that would be considered pests that could come through the sock, tiny pieces of algae maybe? Or are most of the pests people talk about larger? Thoughts?

Just buy a bottle of bacteria

 

[Dr. Reef]

Fritz Turbostart 900 will get your tank cycled in few days.

Plan you present will not work due to reasons already posted above.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Interesting idea. You could give it a try. I'm not sure you'll be able to tell whether it is successful or not. I would think you would get some bacteria. I would also think that many things you don't want could make it through as well. So it may defeat the purpose.

I like farmed live rock from Florida, and don't fear hitchhikers. I'll take that risk over phosphate loaded dry rock any day.

 

[ThRoewer]

Very little bacteria is free floating in the water..most is surface dwelling...
Your plan wont work too well...

IMO hitchhikers are the best part of this hobby...and are rarely a problem..too many spend too much time/energy avoiding them..
Stop worrying about them..

This...

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[ThRoewer]

And the most useful bacteria is deep in the rock in the low oxygen areas and is certainly not something you can extract

... and this.

And the regular surface bacteria can already be bought in bottled form.

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[Sk8r]

Back in the day, we started tanks with raw rock, raw sand and a gallon of dirty water donated by the lfs. Worked. Worked quite well, in fact: carpet anemone took half the tank by Christmas, and the two clowns were happy. I don't recommend it, because any parasites in the store will come home with you, but yes, the discard water from any healthy tank (or unhealthy one) is capable of starting a tank's biology. Not instantly, however. It took an 8 week wait for it to enliven.