Livesand And Rock?

[fish_master]

People often talk about livesand and liverock wat is it ?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Live sand and Live rock are basically terms used for rock and sand covered in live beneficial bacteria and or other critters.

 

[walmartpetsalesassociate]

Speaking of live sand look out for this black sand that came out for Saltwater tanks. It comes with bacteria in it already and it looks beautiful, I wish I had seen it before I put the other sand I had in.

 

[andywg]

Live sand is really a bit of a con, if you have live rock then it will colonise the sand soon enough and save a lot of money in the startup costs.

Live rock is a porous rock in which bacteria can live to complete the nitrogen cycle (ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate --> nitrogen gas) and filter the tank.

It comes in 3 broad types:

1) Wild colelcted - collected from reefs, I believe it usually is the reef skeleton that has been damaged and is lying a little way from the actual reef, typically from Indonesia or the Pacific islands.

2) Large scale man-made - Live rock is porous, so is cement so in some places (typically Florida) they create huge lumps of concrete and drop them into the sea, then pull them up a few months later once they have been inhabited by the life we desire.

3) DIY - a number of people (myself and Aquascaper included) make our own liverock. I've priced mine up and it costs around 50p to £1.00 per kilo to make, compared to £10 - £15 per kilo in the stores. All it takes is cement and bulk. Some people put pasta shells or rock salt in the mix to aid in making the shapes porous, though salt will weaken any cement it is added to and most info I can find on the web says that cement is more than poroous on its own.

The cost of live rock varies depending on its source, but basically, in the above list, the lower the number, the more the cost.

 

[fish_master]

Ok how do people get coral in der tanks?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Ok how do people get coral in der tanks?

You buy it from an LFS once your tank has cycled, matured, and has sufficient lighting.

A pinned topic on Live Rock and Live Sand.

 

[fish_master]

Ok do u cycle marine tanks the same as any other and is the tank setup the same such as filter lights so on

 

[SkiFletch]

Ok do u cycle marine tanks the same as any other and is the tank setup the same such as filter lights so on

heh lots of questions. Yes and no. LR IS your filter, no need for external canisters, ugfs, hobs, etc. So to cycle the tank you just drop the LR in, setup the lights on your timer and wait. Usually takes between 1-3 weeks for a cycle to complete when using liverock as it allready comes seeded with the appropriate bacteria

 

[fish_master]

Ok i think i might just stick to freshwater for now but thanx for all ur help