Live Rock - How do you know if it is alive?

[zmazza]

I just purchased two pieces of 'live rock' the other day. The tank that I got the rock out of didn't have any lights over it. I always thought to have live rock you had to have a certain wpg. I brought two pieces home on Friday, and as of today, I don't see any life on them. I saw what appears to be a small sponge on one, but I don't know if it died before I got the live rock or what.

Is there a way to tell if live rock is in fact live?

Can I add an ammonia source to a tank full of base rock and it turn live?

 

[Kurt03]

If its uncurred live rock i dont think you will see much life untill its cured. The uncurred live rock will produce plenty of ammonia so no need to add any. If its curred live rock then i would think you just need to give it some time to adjust. Also live rock doesnt need any light at all, just good water flow.

 

[tulkas71]

The live part of liverock doesnt have any light requirements.
I assume this was bought a the local fish store?
If it was sold as LR then it has to some degree micoroganism on and in it that break down the nitrogen bypoducts of dead organic materal from ammonia=>nitrite=>nitrates=>Nitrogen.

You mentioned sponges, that a part of it but not a given.

Alot of the Live part may not be visible to the eye but its there.

You best test is to check water parameters. if you have enough LR (alot of people say 1lbs to 1 gal, maybe a litle more) with 'live' on it then your copmpunds above should be close zero.

There might be some die-off on the live in liverock when adding it even if it is already cured. that will spike your copmounds a bit untill more bateria develop and balance the numbers back out.

 

[zmazza]

Sounds good. I'm going to purchase a small powerhead for my tank, and a small 50gph or so to mix my salt. Question, though.

I've turned the 10 gallon into a saltwater tank, and it's the one with the live rock. I know it's small, but I'm just doing a 'test' to see how I like saltwater. The mixing, the work, etc. I'm going to buy a bigger tank and then move the hopefully cured live rock to the bigger tank. This is more or less a way for me to buy base rock and cure it before it's put in the bigger tank. No fish or inverts in this tank, just so you know.

Does the live rock need a certain salinity? Also, what should I use to get the tank started on a cycle?

 

[oddball1972]

i have 15 lbs of live rock in a 10 gal. now for 2 weeks i saw 2 things like on day 3 or 4 and maybe a few more a week later but just this weekend there is even more coming out so just give it time its there just wait for it.

i also thought i got nothing with mine

 

[zmazza]

Sounds good. I'll keep watching and keeping track of everything. This is basically a curing tank for the 55 that I am going to buy. Either that or turn my 40 gallon into a saltwater tank.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Did you tell it to roll over or sit up?

Actually there is a light requirement for LR. Coralline is an algae and does need light. It doesn't need a lot but if kept in the dark for a protracted period is will wither away and die off. Many times with LR you don't see too much during the day but get a red lensed flashlight and take a look after the room is dark for an hour or so. You may be surprised.

 

[zmazza]

Haha! It didn't do much. LOL.

Hmm I'll have to try the flashlight trick. Would a 40 watt fixture over a 40 gallon tank be enough to keep live rock alive?

Could I go with a special bulb and be OK? What about the 55 gallon? Will the hood and lighting that comes with the tank be enough?

 

[tulkas71]

keep in mind in a small tank, water parameters are very touchy.
I doubt i could keep a nano. most people would 'learn' on the 55 and then try the nano.

 

[zmazza]

Since the tank isn't going to have any fish in it, I'm not too overly concerned about it being so touchy. It's just a way for me to cure live rock at the moment and get good at mixing the salt and doing water changes. I may add a hermit crab or a few snails or something, but no fish until I get the bigger tank.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Mazza,

A daylight fluorescent in a shoplight fixture would do fine. Incandescents are usually two narrow in spectrum to provide sufficient light although a grow light type may work. Do remember however that you will need better lighting if you plan to keep some types of corals rather than fish.

 

[zmazza]

I just want to keep fish and live rock at the moment. I might move into corals MUCH later down the road. So I could replace the bulb in the striplight right now with a more powerful, specific spectrum bulb and it would be enough to make my live rock thrive?

 

[Mkind89]

Is my live rock dying?

Is my live rock dying?

I have had my tank going for a month now, I added a live rock a week after I started it. The rock had some growth on it. I recently added 4 fish and a new smaller live rock... my big live rock is about 10 lbs. I think my big rock is dying. I haunt seen any new growth on it, and the plant are turning brown. Please, help. What can I do to fix it

 

[Ron Reefman]

First we need to be clear about YOUR definition of 'live rock'.

The serious reefer will say that live rock has been in the water long enough to have the needed bacteria living on it to help remove ammonia and nitrite. Period.

Others will say live rock means it has 'other' things growing on it besides the needed bacteria. Things like algae, sponges, coraline algae, ect.

To me the second definition is live rock plus. And a lot of the 'plus' is just stuff that may or may not survive the transfer to your tank. And IMHO that's about a 50:50 proposition in a new set up.

Don't sweat the stuff that is dying on the rock. It will help the new tank cycle as it will decay and provide ammonia for the bacteria and other nutrients for anything else that may grow or bloom in your tank. The bacteria is the important issue with a new tank and new live rock.

After your tank has cycled (2 to 8 weeks), stabilized water parameters (weeks to a couple of months), gone through any algae, diatom and bacteria blooms (1 to 4 months) and matured (3 to 12 months), you'll be able to add live rock with other 'stuff' growing on it and have it survive. But a lot of reefers don't want that 'stuff' on their rocks because it can interfere with coral placement and growth.