Rocks and its inhabitants - Aquarium Advice

peas · 04-20-2008, 05:45 PM

just curious but can a live rock with inhabitants benefit your tank in anyway and if they dont have stuff on it what can it do because i used to have these worm things on it,other stuff, and like a microscopic hermit crab or something that my fishes ate and now there isnt anything living on my "live" rocks
btw you know the rocks that people use in freshwater (the dark brown colored ones)...well can i put it in my saltwater tank???

**melosu58** · 04-20-2008, 09:30 PM

Put some new LR in the tank and the small life will migrate to the other rock. It`s called seeding. I cant comment on the FW rock because I dont know what it is composed of.

**roka64** · 04-21-2008, 12:34 PM

LR is very important in the biological filtration process. It will house your beneficial bacteria. The other stuff is a bonus.
I would not put FW rocks in your SW tank, unless you know it does not contain any heavy metals.

**Ziggy953** · 04-21-2008, 03:18 PM

I agree with Roka. I wouldn't put those rocks (FW) into a SW tank.

How long has your tank been set up? What do you have in it? What kind of filtration do you have? What are you water parameters ammonia, nitrAte, NitrIte, PH??

cmor1701d · 04-22-2008, 11:32 AM

The rock used in marine tanks is generally broken bits from coral reefs. It is very porous which allows water to flow through through it. Being porous also gives it tremendous surface area. Bacteria live on the surface area of the rock. The brown rocks used in fw tanks do not have any where near the suirface area of the rock used for LR. It therefore has little benefit and could, depending on its makeup (heavy metals) be detrimental.

04-20-2008, 05:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
peas Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 15	Rocks and its inhabitants just curious but can a live rock with inhabitants benefit your tank in anyway and if they dont have stuff on it what can it do because i used to have these worm things on it,other stuff, and like a microscopic hermit crab or something that my fishes ate and now there isnt anything living on my "live" rocks btw you know the rocks that people use in freshwater (the dark brown colored ones)...well can i put it in my saltwater tank???

04-20-2008, 09:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
melosu58 SW 10 yrs and over Community Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 11,260 Images: 73	Put some new LR in the tank and the small life will migrate to the other rock. It`s called seeding. I cant comment on the FW rock because I dont know what it is composed of. __________________ View My Tanks Click here to Visit FantasyReef

04-21-2008, 12:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
roka64 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,377 Images: 12	LR is very important in the biological filtration process. It will house your beneficial bacteria. The other stuff is a bonus. I would not put FW rocks in your SW tank, unless you know it does not contain any heavy metals. __________________ Uh-oh, I just overloaded my Bioload! Vote for AA Good reading about: Nitrogen Cycle Fishless Cycling Need more help? Articles Acronym List --Scott

04-21-2008, 03:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ziggy953 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sumerduck, Virginia Posts: 2,875 Images: 5	I agree with Roka. I wouldn't put those rocks (FW) into a SW tank. How long has your tank been set up? What do you have in it? What kind of filtration do you have? What are you water parameters ammonia, nitrAte, NitrIte, PH?? __________________ Happy Reefing! *NEW 150G Pick up 6/29/08 Build will be 4th of July weekend* Visit our Article section for answers on a variety of topics. LFS, PWC, PH RO/DI what in the world? Look here! Pods, algae and more!

04-22-2008, 11:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
cmor1701d Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 3,353 Images: 43	The rock used in marine tanks is generally broken bits from coral reefs. It is very porous which allows water to flow through through it. Being porous also gives it tremendous surface area. Bacteria live on the surface area of the rock. The brown rocks used in fw tanks do not have any where near the suirface area of the rock used for LR. It therefore has little benefit and could, depending on its makeup (heavy metals) be detrimental. __________________ Click here to Vote for Aquarium Advice on AquaRank . Vote EVERY day! Click Here for a list of commonly used acronyms and abbreviations. ____ Cmor

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