HEEEEllllllllllllPPPPPPPPPPPP, guys....I just came back from a high end lfs and they said i dont need live rock in my tank, even though its all dead rock.. I said, hey, how come you sell it then, and my point is, they could have sold me it, but didnt...they said, get your sump, skimmer going, then wait, or throw a fish in there, or even better yet buy a bottle of bacteria and dump it in....again, why wouldnt they want to sell me live rock? they could have had business, yet they said, just run your machine and you will see life form and it will die and cause ur cycle, even with there magic bottle.....what is this about?
Live rock complicated scenario.
- Thread starter Theo1972
- Start date
johnc43113
New member
Hmmm....not sure about that....
You should search craigslist or a fellow reefer for live rock. I've picked up quite a bit of coraline covered rock for $2-$3 per pound.
You should search craigslist or a fellow reefer for live rock. I've picked up quite a bit of coraline covered rock for $2-$3 per pound.
The dead rock will acquire bacteria on its own, but it won't have any small animals like copepods, mysid shrimp, etc, on it. It'll be fine for ammonia filtration, though. Cured or uncured likely won't make much difference over the long haul, although the smell of uncured rock can be strong.
Chiefsurfer
New member
he is cycling the tank jon, so it would be nice to find some uncured rock, just help the cycle. On the other hand, uncured will have a lot of die-off and likely be much more time intensive, cleaning off the dead stuff.
The reason to buy ligve rock, as bertoni says, is not for the bacteria, they will colonize anything. It is for all the little "critters" that you get on it. If your LFS doesn't want to sell you what you want, go elsewhere. My LFS didn't want to sell me a skimmer because i don't "need" it on a nano. Well I wanted it, but they didn't want to sell me one. I went elsewhere.
IMO, you are doing the right thing by buying some LR, whether it be cured or uncured, and if they don't want to sell it to you, then go somewhere that will sell it to you.
Do not put a fish in the tank, that is a horrible way to cycle a tank, making the fish live through it. If you can't find any uncured, just throw a piece of raw shrimp(like you would eat for dinner) in with the cured live rock.
The reason to buy ligve rock, as bertoni says, is not for the bacteria, they will colonize anything. It is for all the little "critters" that you get on it. If your LFS doesn't want to sell you what you want, go elsewhere. My LFS didn't want to sell me a skimmer because i don't "need" it on a nano. Well I wanted it, but they didn't want to sell me one. I went elsewhere.
IMO, you are doing the right thing by buying some LR, whether it be cured or uncured, and if they don't want to sell it to you, then go somewhere that will sell it to you.
Do not put a fish in the tank, that is a horrible way to cycle a tank, making the fish live through it. If you can't find any uncured, just throw a piece of raw shrimp(like you would eat for dinner) in with the cured live rock.
ok guys, so.....if i get live cured rock..i went on craiglist and kajiji and there are guys who are getting rid of there tank and selling there live cured rock for cheeap....does cured rock have critters compared to uncured? totally lost now...or am i better off waiting and properly doing it wiht uncured.....
Theo, good luck with the setup. IMO, you have plenty of rock for the tank. I would open the rockwork up a bit to allow better flow of water. 50 lbs of live rock, cured or uncured will be plenty to seed the tank. Keep in mind that a lot of stores won't sell the uncured rock because of the complications that can occur from people that don't know how to handle it. The same is true for sand. I wouldn't spend the money on prepackaged live sand. Buy dry, inert sand and then find a retailer that will sell you a few pounds of sand from the bottom of their establish tanks to seed the tank. Between the live rock and sand you will have plenty to start a diverse bacterial population. Keep all the filters and pumps running and give yourself a month or so to let things get established. This is the approach I used to set up my current tank (now 7 months old) and there is plenty of life in my system in terms of pods, worms, shrimp, etc.
Chiefsurfer
New member
the only thing that "cured" stands for when talking about live rock, is that somebody else, before it got to you, cleaned all the dead matter off the rock, and harvested the bacteria properly for use in the aquarium. Basically, all the hard work has been done already. Cured live rock is PERFECT, just have to use something to help cycle your tank, like a raw shrimp.
There's no need to throw raw shrimp into a tank with live rock. It's just pollution.
There's no exact definition of "cured live rock" and the quality of live rock, cured or not, varies widely in what you get for your money. The best approach is to look at what you get for shape, coralline cover, and hopefully some signs of animals.
There's no exact definition of "cured live rock" and the quality of live rock, cured or not, varies widely in what you get for your money. The best approach is to look at what you get for shape, coralline cover, and hopefully some signs of animals.
Talked to a fellow freind and hes going to exchange me 50 lbs of my dead rock for 50 lbs of his rock that has been in his tank for 5 years or so...hes going to give me sand and water from his tank also.....thanks Bertoni, i wont throw the shrimp..had a bad feeling about that...Going to take new pics and post them on here with live rock..etc..
Chiefsurfer
New member
it could be a height issue. As some have said, in-sump skimmers are meant to work within certain depths of water. If they got a free sump, and didn't want to go through the trouble of modifying it, they could just lay it on some egg crate to get the required height. Just an idea.
MOB1224
New member
This is the reason. It all depends on the depth that your skimer is supposed 2 work in. The egg crate is just 2 adjust the height.
Guys, quick question....When i cycle my tank any time now..do i have my skimmer on? i did some research and they say not to have my skimmer on during cycle....ill paste there comments....u guys agree or disagree.if u read the previous posts i think i was told to have everything run.
It is generally not advised to use a protein skimmer during the cycling stage. The reasons for this are that during the cycling stage, it is your goal to let the nitrifying bacteria reproduce to help stabilize the nutrient levels within the tank. By skimming out the dissolved organics within the tank, you are essentially stealing food away from these beneficial bacteria.
It is generally not advised to use a protein skimmer during the cycling stage. The reasons for this are that during the cycling stage, it is your goal to let the nitrifying bacteria reproduce to help stabilize the nutrient levels within the tank. By skimming out the dissolved organics within the tank, you are essentially stealing food away from these beneficial bacteria.
Bertoni, does that mean all the copipods, and amphipods, will die ? im assuming the only reason were putting live rock is to have these around right? and to start a cycle from the other bad bacteria, is that more or less right? Cause im assuming if its not for the pod's then no reason to use rock to cycle ur tank.
Chiefsurfer
New member
There are some other reasons for using LR, but having pods in your system is definitely a reason.
The pods are strong enough and fast enough to avoid the suction of the skimmer if that is your concern. I think some part of bertoni's concern of keeping stuff live is for feather-dusters, sponges, barnacles, oysters, spaghetti worms, etc. Most of these things are filter-feeders, and improve your water quality from having them.
I did not run my skimmer for about the first 8 hours after adding the rock, so that non-organic debris(sand, dust, etc.) is not removed, which would lead to excess water removed for no real reason. Once the debris settled down, mine went on and is still on during the cycle.
The pods are strong enough and fast enough to avoid the suction of the skimmer if that is your concern. I think some part of bertoni's concern of keeping stuff live is for feather-dusters, sponges, barnacles, oysters, spaghetti worms, etc. Most of these things are filter-feeders, and improve your water quality from having them.
I did not run my skimmer for about the first 8 hours after adding the rock, so that non-organic debris(sand, dust, etc.) is not removed, which would lead to excess water removed for no real reason. Once the debris settled down, mine went on and is still on during the cycle.
oh very very cool cheif, i gotcha now...ok so ill run my circ pump maby and skimmer off for a day, then the next when everything looks settled, i'll turn it on... Well do you guys buy or add pods manually? or you just have them naturally from whatever comes in rock? im worried incase i dotn have any in my LR, maby getting ahead of myself, im sure there in there, but then again what if right?
