coral acquisition
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How long can live rock live in a bucket without light?
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Live Rock in a bucket
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o2manyfish
o2manyfish
The live portion of the rock is biological and not related to light or photosynthesis.
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Puffyluv -- I will disagree as well (said with a smile) 
-- Coraline algae is something that 'might' be living on live rock, as well as sponges, pods, crabs and corals. But those are 'hitchhikers" on the live rock. The main purpose of live rock is biological filtration of an aquarium by providing surface area for bacteria to colonize on. You can have a perfectly healthy tank without any sign of coraline algae, but not without an established biological filter.
Recently there is a trend for cooking rock - to kill every last thing on it an have just raw rock - And people use that as the starting point for building a reef.
When I started in the hobby there was no live rock - we started tanks with dead coral gravel and dead coral skeletons and some damsel fish to start the cycle - Nature can establish itself and start the biological process as soon as ammonia is added to the water. After that algae will develop, and from that coraline algae can develop.
But saving coraline algae on some live rock in a bucket is not critical to the health of the liverock.
Dave B
-- Coraline algae is something that 'might' be living on live rock, as well as sponges, pods, crabs and corals. But those are 'hitchhikers" on the live rock. The main purpose of live rock is biological filtration of an aquarium by providing surface area for bacteria to colonize on. You can have a perfectly healthy tank without any sign of coraline algae, but not without an established biological filter. Recently there is a trend for cooking rock - to kill every last thing on it an have just raw rock - And people use that as the starting point for building a reef.
When I started in the hobby there was no live rock - we started tanks with dead coral gravel and dead coral skeletons and some damsel fish to start the cycle - Nature can establish itself and start the biological process as soon as ammonia is added to the water. After that algae will develop, and from that coraline algae can develop.
But saving coraline algae on some live rock in a bucket is not critical to the health of the liverock.
Dave B
Aw, come on, don't you remember being a newbie? When every flake of coralline was treasured? 
I agree, these kids today and their rock cooking. Muratic acid and the like. You would think reefing was complicated! But, how could it be, when just a decade or two ago we used crushed coral and undergravel filters? And "cooking" our rock meant leaving it out in the sun for a day, and only then after some terrible pest or fish disease...never anything so common as algae!
Ah, but alas! I have you here (I am positively grinning now, because I can see we will probably agree more than we disagree, and there was never anything supposed to be wrong with debating, anyway) the bacteria itself it not part of the calcium carbonate composition of the rock any more than the corraline, corals, or pods would be. Well, okay, maybe the pods. But the bacteria isn't really "part" of the rock, either. And the lifespan of unfed bacteria? Well, that's a whole 'nother can of worms!
Aha! Your move!
Oh, and one more...corraline algae cannot develop from dead coral and damsels alone, surely. Would need to put in a source of it...like the rock on a coral frag, or a piece of liverock, right?
I agree, these kids today and their rock cooking. Muratic acid and the like. You would think reefing was complicated! But, how could it be, when just a decade or two ago we used crushed coral and undergravel filters? And "cooking" our rock meant leaving it out in the sun for a day, and only then after some terrible pest or fish disease...never anything so common as algae!
Ah, but alas! I have you here (I am positively grinning now, because I can see we will probably agree more than we disagree, and there was never anything supposed to be wrong with debating, anyway) the bacteria itself it not part of the calcium carbonate composition of the rock any more than the corraline, corals, or pods would be. Well, okay, maybe the pods. But the bacteria isn't really "part" of the rock, either. And the lifespan of unfed bacteria? Well, that's a whole 'nother can of worms!
Aha! Your move!
Oh, and one more...corraline algae cannot develop from dead coral and damsels alone, surely. Would need to put in a source of it...like the rock on a coral frag, or a piece of liverock, right?
