Rock Bin

[Alunai]

Alrighty, so here is what I did with all my rock.

- 20 gallons plastic bin
- 2 Small HOB filters, opposite/diagonal from each other (help circulation)
- 10 Gallon light fixture with two coralife mini compact 50/50 bulbs
- Timer set 8hr light schedule.
- Heater set at 79* F
- Salinity is currently at about .022.

Thoughts?

Should I get some hermits and snails, perhaps a small damsel for the rock bin? I'm mostly keeping the rock bin to keep my LR live, encourage coralline growth and increase pod numbers hopefully. Should I get some chaeto to throw in there to grow as well?

 

[Alunai]

bumpity.

 

[joebo1717]

There is a pretty cool video on youtube about a guy that would scrape the purple off his rocks and let it flow around in the tank to settle in other areas and grow. To get coraline you also need to keep calcium and alk up and in balance. As far as pods as long as you have a few in there already they will reproduce if there are no predators. I don't think cheto is needed. If anything the little strands will fall off and settle in small parts of the rock and be hard to rid of later.

 

[Alunai]

Thank you for the input. This is my second try at getting responses for this thread, neither seems to attract much help.:hmm2:

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Exactly what help are you looking for? Is this bin attached to anything or just a bin in the basement? Why do you want pods and so on in this bin? What do you expect from chaeto?

It sounds like you're either storing live rock for use, curing your rock or you've started a bin of live rock expecting something. Can you share what it might be?

Jeff

 

[beatle]

I'm doing the opposite with my rock. I'm "cooking" it in heated (79F), circulated saltwater that I change a couple times a month. The bins are opaque and I leave the lids on. The rock will be white, but the good stuff will grow back in time.

 

[Palting]

Thank you for the input. This is my second try at getting responses for this thread, neither seems to attract much help.:hmm2:

Exactly what help are you looking for? Is this bin attached to anything or just a bin in the basement? Why do you want pods and so on in this bin? What do you expect from chaeto?

It sounds like you're either storing live rock for use, curing your rock or you've started a bin of live rock expecting something. Can you share what it might be?

Jeff

+1. I would like to help, but I don't know where to help you. What are you expecting with the rock/rock bin?

 

[joebo1717]

Alrighty, so here is what I did with all my rock.

- 20 gallons plastic bin
- 2 Small HOB filters, opposite/diagonal from each other (help circulation)
- 10 Gallon light fixture with two coralife mini compact 50/50 bulbs
- Timer set 8hr light schedule.
- Heater set at 79* F
- Salinity is currently at about .022.

Thoughts?

Should I get some hermits and snails, perhaps a small damsel for the rock bin? I'm mostly keeping the rock bin to keep my LR live, encourage coralline growth and increase pod numbers hopefully. Should I get some chaeto to throw in there to grow as well?

he states his expectation in the red text

 

[Palting]

Ah, Ok, but usually it's to use that for someting else later. I don't quite understand why he would keep the rock in that bin for that long. I suppose it can be treated like a fishless tank. I actually kept such a tank for more than 8 weeks while all my fish were in QT.

For that specific goal, to encourage coraline and pod growth, one thing I would add is to feed the bacteria. Eventually, all the die off will be finished and consumed, and the bacteria will starve. Periodically feed shrimp or fish food, as if there were fish in the bin, to provide the food for the bacteria.

As stated by joebo, scrape some coraline into the flow to seed the rocks. I started my coraline with one coraline encrusted seashell.

Lights are ok.

As a fishless tank, to grow coraline and pods, I would suggest 10X volume for flow, or 200 gph. If you already have pods from the live rock, they should multiply. Just to be sure, it can't hurt to buy the pods in a jar available at your lfs or on-line.

Chaeto or macroalgae is to help consume the nitrates. You can control the nitrates with water changes, and water changes will also provide the calcium, alk, etc, that you need for coraline. So, my opinion is that it's better to do water changes.

I'd keep an eye on water parameters, and maintain them as if it were reef tank, to get the best chance of coraline and pod growth. When I did my fallow tank, I had an explosion of pods and critters all over the tank in those 8 weeks. Coraline only took off after about 2 more months, with the fish and coral already in the tank.

 

[Alunai]

What I'm basically doing this for is to keep my live rock live until I have a use for it. I only have two tanks and too much rock for them to look nice. So I'll keep it in there until I get a larger tank or finally get my boyfriend into the hobby. I know it would be nice for him to be able to start off with LR that's been well kept. So would it be a good idea to throw a few inverts in there to keep that bacteria cycle going?

The lights will encourage algae growth on the rock (hopefully not a lot) --> The inverts will graze on the rock --> pods will feed on.. what do they feed on? it's got to be some sorta cycle!

P.S. I'm a lady ^.^

 

[Palting]

Hello, lady! Sorry for saying "he"

Bottom of the food chain would be phytoplankton, living off the light, then on to pods, etc.

Then there's the nitrate cycle. If things work out right, it will go from dead stuff/dead shrimp/fish food all the way to nitrogen gas, so no high nitrate levels to speak of. If/when the BF is ready for them, rock will be fully cured and full of good bacteria. If you want coraline, though, you have to provide calcium, alk, mag, for it, probably best in the form of water changes.

 

[Alunai]

Thank you for the answer, that is very helpful. But I'm not sure if I have missed it or if it wasn't spoken of, should I add a few snails and/or hermits in there? I'm assuming yes, so as to keep that cycle going, but I figured I should ask rather than assume. =)