Base Rock

[Joeyt66]

How long would it take to turn base rock into live rock? Does it help to have live rock in with it ,or will it become live rock on its own?

 

[Fish Fingers]

Base rock can become live rock on its own but it's much quicker if you seed it with live rock. As for how long it takes I'm not sure.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

It all depends on how much LR you put in for the amount of time it would take for it all to become live rock.

 

[Joeyt66]

OK lets say i have 125 gallon tank buy 65 pounds of live rock and 65 of base rock put them in my tank with only a sand bed in it how long would it take? I'm just lookin for a basic time frame as i have no idea.

 

[Aquascaper]

There's no real way of giving a time frame. It will depend on how quickly the bacteria colonies grow on the base rock which in turn depends on lots of factors such as temperature, feeding, lighting, type of base rock, etc.

What I do know is that you'd be better off saving the money you would spend on base rock and buy only Live Rock, it will mean your tank will look a bit emptier but it will create a far better tank later on. A reef takes a long time to build, create & settle.......you cannot do things quickly and this is not the hobby for impatient people. You will have to resign yourself to the fact that your reef will not look its best for a long time to come. My reef is just over 12 months old and is only now starting to settle and look the way I want with the right amount of rock, etc.

HTH

 

[Joeyt66]

I dont mean to imply that i am looking for the "quick way" just really looking to better educate myself.
Ya i was wondering to if it would be better to buy all live rock instead of base rock.
When buying live rock i plan on storing it in a 35 gallon What all do i need to keep it going? My plan was saltwater,powerhead, light. Is a heater needed? Anything else?

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Yeah it might be better to just buy all live rock, you will get more stuff that way. You do need a heater because all the life needs the same environment as the ocean to survive.

 

[serpent]

pls send tips on red belly phiranna

 

[Joeyt66]

huh? What kinda of tips are you looking for?

 

[Aquascaper]

The only thing base rock (or Reefbones) is good for is structure. It is sometimes quite hard to get single large pieces of Live Rock or that particular shape you're looking for. If this is the case then go for it but using it to add 'bulk' to a reef is the worng way to go about it.
One product that I have found good for shaping is something called 'Alpha Coral', its a resin material that is very porous and can be shaped into that ideal piece. It will also be populated over time and will be indistinguishable from natural live rock.

 

[crazyelece]

I like using lace rock as a base rock due to its similar density to live rock and it comes in wondeful size peices to make great caves and overhangs. Base rock is good to help make the aquascape structures you are looking for. Eventually it will become cured but will never be true live rock. A good sign of when base rock is becoming cured is when coraline algea starts growing over it. Also when using base rock you must stock the tank very slowly, even slower than normal, because it takes more time for the bacteria to develope and spread to the base rock.