Live Rock for freshwater?

[fishmonger]

Is this a stupid question? I thought I overheard someone talking about live rock for their freshwater tank at the lfs. Is there such a thing?

[loganj]

Hmm...I've never heard of that. I guess it depends on what you consider to be "live" rock. You won't have any of the invertebrate growth on rock in FW...no coraline ect... However, if you add porous rock to a FW tank, bacteria would colonize it quickly and you might even realize some nitrate reduction in the inner regions of the rock. The problem with this is that most of the porous rock is aragonite or something similar and will cause pH problems with most FW tanks. African cichlids would be an exception to this as they thrive at a higher pH. Another potential problem would be algae growth...it would be very difficult to remove from this type of rock without resorting to drastic measures.

[workfortheman]

I just started cycling a 20 gal tank (freshwater going-to-be-brackish) with a peice of "dead" rock in it (among other things). It has spent months in another freshwater tank of mine, so it's pretty well cured/quarantined, and I just added it a few days ago. The tank's going to house my GSPs for a while, and I figure a high pH would be okay. We will see. Currently at:
ph 7.5
kH 3
GH 6
nitrite: ~0.3
ammonia: ~0.25

planning to do some ammonia addition for a fishless cycle soon...
I'll try to post a pic..

[fishmonger]

Well the reason I ask is because I want to start an African Cichlid tank with alot of rocks. Would the algae growth on the rocks be bad for cichlids?

[mattrox]

Mbuna Chiclids eat algae off rocks...so I suspect it would benefit them!

[TankGirl]

I used baserock for my African tank - I ordered it from a LFS that is SW only. It is not "live" but it is rock that is used in a SW setup.

Algae does grow on it, and the mbuna do pick at the rocks and keep them basically clean. I got them for their buffering ability, but they are very rough and fish can be injured if they are chased into tight crevices. Stack them either tight without spaces in between, or with wide openings so fish can fit easily through them.

[oscarbreeder]

You can always use lace rock.
It will help buffer your ph in the African tank.
Thats what I use and some algae does grow on it but not that much.

[Devilishturtles]

I second the advice on the lace rock. Looks great (depending on your taste) and is a little less expensive than live rock. Most LFS's carry it.

[TankGirl]

Lace rock was way more expensive for me than was the base rock, which I got for about $1.00 per pound - he even put it in my car for me!

[Devilishturtles]

Lace rock was way more expensive for me than was the base rock, which I got for about $1.00 per pound - he even put it in my car for me!

Wow! Mine was around $2.99 a pound at my LFS(doesn't carry it anymore), and the lace rock was $1.99 a pound. Much cheaper! Good find on the base rock!

[oscarbreeder]

Same prices on the rock here and since I use the same LFS all the time they even tossed in a few extra pieces for FREE.. 8O

[TankGirl]

That was definitely a good price - this guy is really anxious for me to switch over to SW, so he will happily order anything for me. He got me the Eco-Complete African substrate also, no shipping, even though it was not in his catalog, and he had to call them and track it down. He has the right idea about doing business, so whenever I do try a SW setup you know where I'll go