Live Rock And Coral Bones

[jlane1980]

Hi, i've asked this in my Journal (below), and thought i'd post it here as a separate topic!

Question: I've looked at a different forum (sorry), and i've read about people seeding their own live rock. By buying cheaper 'dead' rock or coral skeletons, and setting up their tank with the dead rock and a smaller amount of live rock, to speed up the seeding process.

Now, apart from the obviously larger amount of time it would take to establish a cycle, is there anything else i'd need to know? I'm not thinking of doing it, just exploring my options! I quite like the idea of doing everything i possibly can on my own. I realise, also, that money saving and marine fish keeping are normally NOT two phrases that normally go together! And i also realise that by trying to save money, you may also cut corners, which could have potentially disastrous consequences!

Peace Out

Jon

 

[KittyKat]

This worked for me.. it is a slow process though. Do keep in mind that you may miss out on interesting critters though! More LR -> higher chance of something good coming in on it (also more likely that something bad will come in).

 

[Murloc]

I've done just this using Dr. Tim's one and only as my other tank cracked and I needed a fast move. Today's been the first day and everything's settled in well. I've got about 5-6kg of reef bones and 2-3 kg of live rock from my knackered tank.

 

[jlane1980]

OK,
Thanks. A couple more questions!!

What ratio of LR/DR (Dead Rock) did you use? How long did you wait before adding Livestock? Do you have any indications that the rock is seeding i.e. ammonia spikes etc? Where can i get coral bones from? Did you do anything else to aid the process (higher temp etc.)?

Sorry to pester!

 

[HappyGeorge]

My only experience with this was in adding some coral bones to already very well matured LR, a big reef plate to my 3ft and a huge branching piece to my 5ft. The issue with the reef bones is sometimes they are very heavy my 2 pieces cost me about £70 I think, as already mentioned the main issues are the length of time whilst waiting for a cycle (mine didn't cycle and the fact that it was only 1 piece in each tank caused no spike or water quality issues) and possible lack of bio-diversity, just make sure the stuff you add is really good. I'm also not sure what sort of die off you would get from the live rock you are using to seed during the spike.

 

[KittyKat]

I added mine when the tank was 1 year old, I think. I had no spikes or anything like that, I think I added about 1/3 again of rock as reef bones. They just set there looking white for a few weeks, then started getting covered in coraline algae and little feather worms.

 

[Donya]

What ratio of LR/DR (Dead Rock) did you use?

Depends what your goal is. If you just want rock with the invisible bugs and algae that will filter your water, you only need a little chunk for an entire tub of rock (not sure whether the seed amount will affect how fast the rest colonizes - someone would have to test that empirically). If you want biodiversity beyond that, you'll either need a somewhat bigger chunk that is absolutely loaded or a bunch of pieces that have the assemblage of beasties that you ant to propagate to the other rocks (brittles, worms, barnacles...whatever you're after really). I've done it both ways with non-reef rock as well. Here are some examples of what I've done:

- One potatoe chip-sized chunk of seed rock for a small tub with 4-5lbs of unseeded rock
- ~4lbs of super-duper lively rock and ~30lbs of non-reef dry rock in-tank.

How long did you wait before adding Livestock?

As soon as your params are stable while there's something decaying in the tank like a chunk of prawn meat. You can add livestock while the rock is still colonizing, provided you add slowly and carefully over time so that you don't trigger a detectable mini-cycle.

Do you have any indications that the rock is seeding i.e. ammonia spikes etc?

Standard ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle really, but also color changes. IME rock colonized in a dark environment will turn very dark brown/gray/black, and if it's really porous and you chip it, you can see some color change a ways into the rock. When placed in high flow, the more exposed areas will revert back to normal color but the rock will stil filter. Rock colonized in a brightly lit, more in-tank environment will start to show algal growth (green, purple, etc.) in addition to other color changes. Areas below the sand will usually turn the same dark gray/black as in the unlit case. If seeded with really lively rock, you may see critters showing up like filter-feeding worms.