I've gotten all my equipment gathered, and have everything staged except for some live rock. I was going to buy some base rock and seed it with some live rock since the stuff is so much money. I had decided to go with lace rock and the guy at the LFS to me not to. So my question is what should I use as a good base rock?
What makes good base rock?
- Thread starter Delr3
- Start date
I wouldn't use the lace rock. You can go with the Marco Rocks or Eco Rock from Bulk Reef Supply. Or you can get limestone from your LFS if they have it. Typically online vendors or sometimes LFS sell base rock, which is "live", but it doesn't have the depth of life that you pay the live rock premium for
xJake
Active member
What makes good base rock...
1)Material - base rock for a marine tank should always be calcium carbonate based. Such types include limestone, aragonite, and many other types of decorative "calcite" rocks of decent purity. Do NOT use igneous rocks; these can contain excess iron and other impurities which could potentially harm the livestock you plan to keep. Such examples of igneous rock include any type or "volcanic" rock, or any basalt-based rock. There are a large group of other types of rock that can and cannot be used, but what I've pointed out above are the two extremes (best and worst choice).
2) Porosity - if the rock is dense and compacted, then it can't support much of a population of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria - such rock is basically useless for a "bio-filter" that most people use live rock for. Good base rock should have visible pores on the surface, and should contain a large amount of both internal and external surface area on which organisms can populate. These pores are more than just holes in the rock, they are signs that the rock contains a good amount of hollow space on the interior. They can range in size from microscopic to the size of a baseball, but the rock you choose should have a good range of pore sizes to allow for increased diversity in the animal populations that begin to colonize it.
3) Aesthetics - obviously, you don't want to look at some ugly grey/brown rock every time you go to view your tank, so you should find rock that looks good. A simple solution that many people use is simply adding the base rock and then putting live rock on top to act as a sort of "disguise." Then it doesn't matter what your base rock looks like, because all you see is the "pretty" live rock.
1)Material - base rock for a marine tank should always be calcium carbonate based. Such types include limestone, aragonite, and many other types of decorative "calcite" rocks of decent purity. Do NOT use igneous rocks; these can contain excess iron and other impurities which could potentially harm the livestock you plan to keep. Such examples of igneous rock include any type or "volcanic" rock, or any basalt-based rock. There are a large group of other types of rock that can and cannot be used, but what I've pointed out above are the two extremes (best and worst choice).
2) Porosity - if the rock is dense and compacted, then it can't support much of a population of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria - such rock is basically useless for a "bio-filter" that most people use live rock for. Good base rock should have visible pores on the surface, and should contain a large amount of both internal and external surface area on which organisms can populate. These pores are more than just holes in the rock, they are signs that the rock contains a good amount of hollow space on the interior. They can range in size from microscopic to the size of a baseball, but the rock you choose should have a good range of pore sizes to allow for increased diversity in the animal populations that begin to colonize it.
3) Aesthetics - obviously, you don't want to look at some ugly grey/brown rock every time you go to view your tank, so you should find rock that looks good. A simple solution that many people use is simply adding the base rock and then putting live rock on top to act as a sort of "disguise." Then it doesn't matter what your base rock looks like, because all you see is the "pretty" live rock.
