live rock or base rock

[tim000]

I bought 15lbs of live rock for my 15g tank, that was not in a water when i bought it. the guy said it used to be alive but it isnt now. he said that once i put it in my tank things will start to grow back on it. it basically looks like live rock but totally striped of everything (cement looking) is this true?
thank you

 

[Anonymous]

Was it out of the water for like, an hour or a day- or was it out for a long time and totally dried out? If totally dried you might get some algae growing but thats about it.

 

[tim000]

yea it was totally bone dry, it was out of the water for maybe a month or so. so there is no way i'll get anything to grow on it? i do have a few lbs of live rock in there that is totally covered with stuff that i bought from another store a few weeks back, will this stuff spread over to the rock that isnt covered?
thanks for your help!

 

[scooterr]

Your old live rock will seed the new rock but everything on the old rock will be dead.
hope you didn't pay much for it!
jeff

 

[tim000]

wait so u are saying that everything on the LR will die and everything will grow on the base rock?

both rocks are in my aquarium right now live/dead, should I just keep everything like u would with a normal reef aquarium, lights on for 12 hours temp 78' and so on???
thanks,
tim

 

[White-Queen]

What they're saying is that the dried out rock, becuase it was out of the water so long, is totally dead. Everything that might have been on it has died by now.

But all the stuff growing on the rocks you already had in your tank (the ones "covered in stuff") will begin to spread and grow not just on the rocks you already had, but also on the new ricks you just bought. They won't leave the other rocks bare...just multiply and eventually cover both types.

 

[tim000]

thanks White-queen, thats what I wanted to here

would it help at all to add some more figi LR to it, to maybe help speed up the spread of things on to the base rock?

 

[AnotherGoldenTeapot]

Have you thought about the ammonia spike you will get from adding these rocks? All of the stuff that was living on there is now dead and much of this will still be attached (in the pores of the rock for example) - you're going to need to cycle this rock.

The dead style rock you are talking about is the only stuff you can buy in New Zealand - live rock can only be imported if it has an "allowed" coral growing on it (and nothing that is not allowed) - I know it's insane - a rock without a coral is surely the same as a rock with a coral...

This rock tends to be incredibly dirty - even if washed as well as is humanely possible it still needs to be cycled.

 

[tim000]

actually i got the rock from aquarium shop that got it from another shop that went out of business. I paid like a $1 for it so I hope it works out for me.

btw- i am cycling my tank right now(15g). I have had 3lbs of figi LR in there for a 2 weeks and I just added 13lbs of that dead stuff this weekend along with a damsel. there is a ton of brownish alge in there and some silver looks bubbles on the rocks. I plan on leaving it this way for al little while and maybe throughing some snails soon.

if anybody has any suggestions please let me know, i am all ears

thanks,
tim

 

[BBReefkeeper]

The brown stuff is algea and the silver bubbles are oxygen bubbles produced by the algea. I used lots of base rock seeded by Fiji and Marshall Island rock. The base rock tends to attract more algea, but if you're trying to save money it is a good way to go. After 2-3 months you will start to get dime sized coraline growth splotches on your base rock. In 3-6 months your base rock and seed rock will blend together and start to look alike. I would leave everything alone. You can usea new clean toothbrush to help controll the algea build up. But only time and RO/DI water will make it all go away.
Good Luck
Bryan

 

[esmithiii]

The dead LR will take over a year to seed itself to the extent that live LR is seeded. The dead LR will not add to the ammonia/nutrients if it has been dry for several weeks and was cleanes before being placed in your tank.

 

[tim000]

so do u think I should add any snails or worms right now?

by the way thanks for all the help so far!
Tim

 

[tim000]

^

 

[esmithiii]

Tim,

If your water tests fine, I would add some snails.

Ernie

 

[Greg Hiller]

If the rock that was dried up had any significant amount of live on it I'd take it out of your tank now. I commonly 'recycle' live rock that have something on it that is problematic (funky algaes like Bryopsis). I soak the rocks in dilute bleach to remove all the crap from them. Then rinse them well, and let them dry in a warm place until they no longer smell of bleach. You can then add them to your tank without the concern of adding all the nutrients from the decaying organisms. FWIW, I start most of my tanks with ALL base, dry rock and add just a small piece or two of live rock. 12 months later it's pretty hard to tell. Check out my tanks at www.angelfire.com/ma3/ghcorals/