turning base rock alive

[Smonkey15]

i have a 90 gallon fo tank right now. i want to get into live rock but since it is expensive i want to get mostly base rock and put in some live rock to seed it. my question is, say if i put in 90 lbs base rock and the rest live rock how much live rock do i actually need and how long does it take to seed the base rock? thanks.
steve

 

[steve-s]

You actually do not need much actual LR, 20 lbs should do it. In a 90 gal tank, you may wish to have a bit more rock in total though.

The time frame will vary but in very little time the bacteria will colonize the surfaces and the fauna will migrate in a few short months. As far as the surface area's for coralline and such, that will greatly depend on water chemistry and lighting but it could take anywhere from a few month to a year.

One alternative to LR completely is getting some Grunge. It will have many types of coralline as well as beneficial "critters". Basically all the good and none of the bad...

Cheers
Steve

 

[rhomb]

my setup has been running for bout 8 weeks, and im starting to see some coraline on my base rock, its nice, the cool green flashy one got on the rock!