Need some answers

R

RyanDragon

New member
I had a saltwater fish only tank for a year. I've decided that I want to have live rock in my aquarium... I've heard of people saying that u can seed base rocks with some live rocks. wat is a base rock ? Can u experts outthere tell me how to do this? buy all live rock ? or seed base rocks with live rocks ??? I have a limited budget..so i would prefer the cheapest option. Thanks in advance.
 
Base rock is rock that is cheaper because it is sort of ugly. My experience has been that base rock is sometimes a phosphate repository which is undesirable. But many people go this route to save money.
 
Re: Need some answers

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12976024#post12976024 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanDragon
I had a saltwater fish only tank for a year. I've decided that I want to have live rock in my aquarium... I've heard of people saying that u can seed base rocks with some live rocks. wat is a base rock ? Can u experts outthere tell me how to do this? buy all live rock ? or seed base rocks with live rocks ??? I have a limited budget..so i would prefer the cheapest option. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

the term base rock is use very loosely and streched very far today

If I buy base rock then it has been mined from cliffs close to the oceans. It is devoid of life and bacteria.
Live rock depending on how much dead and dying stuff from the reef has been scrubbed off it(curing) usually has been kept moist enough for the bacteria on and in it to survive.
It is this bacteria that is the biological filtration for your system

Live rock can come from different areas--eg Figi--and the live rock from there is very porous. You want this so it can hold the anerobic bacteria in the centre of it(aerobic bacteria break down the ammonia to nitrites and anerobic bacteria break down the nitrites to nitrates)

So if you buy base rock make sure it is porous, and if you use it with live rock expect it to take up to three months to fully cycle bacteria on and in it.
A normal cycling time is 6 weeks with just live rock in comparison

In your particular case you are better to cure the live rock and have it cycle in a separate container for the 4-6 weeks. Then introduce it to your FO tank.
This way you avoid ammonia spikes which can kill your fish
 
I just got off ebay. I come across this offer and I just want ur opinion on wether I should buy it or not... I have a hexagon tank by the way...
 
if it worth buying than I will buy it and go buy the live rock at a near by pet store and cure it for 1 week and then when the base rock arrive I will add them to the tank...
 
first off how large is your tank? the shape makes no difference...when purchasing live rock you must be aware that there will be some sort of amononia spike regardless of if the company claims it to be cured due to the fact that there will be at least some die off in your tank..which is ok in moderation plus fish are much more forgiving then corals...in my most recent setup of in my 55 gal i used about 40 pounds of live rock and 20 pounds of base rock now keep in mind this is how is cycled my tank but the tank has been running now for around 6months and the base rock began to encrust in coraline alge within 3 months and is now mostly covered....so imo i would save the money and go with more base rock (if you can find some that is nice to look at)and less live rock however this will take longer to achive your overall goal but the biggest key to success in this hobby is patience!
 
I'm not a big fan of base rock because its normally very dense and therefore not as beneficial as true live rock. I have over 300 lbs of live rock in my system and will probably never us base rock.
If cash is an issue buy small amounts and add it as you money becomes available since you dont have any rock yet any amount is going to be an improvement. just make sure you cure it properly.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12976493#post12976493 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanDragon
http://cgi.ebay.com/11LBS-LIVE-LAVA...oryZ3212QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

here it is.. sorry i forgot to paste it on the last reply
Click to expand...

I'd listen to 2frosty4u and buy good quality live rock that you can pick out yourself

Live rock and the sand bed form the biological filtration for your system. Spend the money on quality live rock and medium grade argonite for the sand bed and start with a good filtration base for your system
 
I've found this guy at my town who sell dry fiji rocks, it looks very nice I think I will buy half dry and half live rocks at once, since i only want to have 1 amonia spike not 10...lol btw , my tank is a 35 gal hex tank. I have 2 3/4 inch of crush corals as my sand bed, is that good ?? or do I need live sand ?
 
Last edited:
I'm curious, What are you using now as filtration on your Hex and what kind, and how many fish are you keeping in it?
 
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