Seeding LR?

[two11devan]

I was looking at my tank and I think I wanna add some more LR in there. I think I just wanna add a few pieces to give the rock i have some height and make some more hiding places. If all i want to add is a few pieces, could i just get some "dead" rock (what can i use for this?) and have the LR I already have seed it? (How would i go about doing this?) or would it be better to just get some LR and cure it in a bin?? Thanks for the help!

 

[By-Tor]

Anytime you add Live Rock directly to your tank, you stand a chance of problems because of die off. If you wanted to add LR, I would cure it first. If you don;t want to wait, you could always just add base rock. The bacteria would "migrate" to the new rock. After some time, the new rock would be fully seeded. Good luck

 

[two11devan]

I know I have to cure the LR before I out it in my tank...i wanted to know if seeding base rock will be just as good as using LR

 

[By-Tor]

The bacteria that lives on the rock requires a food source. In this case, ammonia or nitrites. Any bacteria that doesn;t have food will die. Therefore, right now, your live rock is sufficient enough for the tank you currently have. If you add extra rock but no extra living organisms to give off waste, then the addition will be for asthetic purposes only. But, if you want to put the rock in the tank to seed for another tank, then the existing bacteria would migrate. Good luck

 

[BillyZ]

you can add base rock to your system without worry. Just be sure you're using a clean porus rock that won't leach anything into your system. Many LFS will have base rock for sale that you can use without worry. It will take some time for the bacteria and algaes to spread but it will spread and it will eventualy look just like all the other rock in your tank. Some suggest directing the flow of a PH directly at some of your existing LR to help spread the coraline and other algaes around the rocks in your tank.

 

[two11devan]

Thanks fellas...is there a specific kind of base rock (does it have a name?) or is it all just called base rock and i just have to look for something porous?

 

[By-Tor]

its most of the time called base rock. some LFS will sell TUFA rock as base rock. Tufa is okay to use, not the best. Basically, base rock is a calcium based rock. I found a LFS that had killer deals on dead coral skeletons. I picked some up and used the as a base for my LR. It provides lots of space for my critters to swim in and out of, and looks way cool. I positioned my LR so you can't see the dead coral. Good luck

 

[Coralena]

Lace Rock

My LFS has something called "Lace Rock" its beautiful in the take, has lots of places for the animals to hide and play in and its CHEAP.....here it runs $1.29lb and we like it so much more than our LR. The only downside we've seen is that since putting it in the tank these cobweb looking sacs have developed all over it. I have no clue what this is or where its from but the rock was rinsed well and ready for the tank. So maybe someone can touch on this. HTH.