Explain live rock please

[ellisz]

Can someone explain how live rock grows? When live rock is cured, it is going through the cycle with high levels of ammonia and nitrites. Water changes this in check but is it just the bacteria that lives on and will eventually grow back? People talk of LR seeding the sand bed but will worms or organisms survive the cycle and are just dormant until water conditions get better?

Thanks

 

[thorn]

There are many things that can and do survive live rock curing.

To begin, live rock is usually the dead calcareous skeletons of very old coral (I say usually, because you can make your own out of cement and other materials). When live rock is cured, it's allowing anything that has died or is decomposing on the rock to finish rotting away and be consumed by the critters and bacteria that are in the curing tanks.

Worms, like bristleworms, are extremely hardy. They thrive on eating up anything dead or dying, so they are VERY active during the curing process. The critters like pistol shrimp, cucumbers, crabs, snails, etc that you find in live rock play the specific role of cleaning up detritus. So they are very much active while the rock is curing.

 

[ellisz]

I have not seen anything moving on my rock. I have seen some dead worms stick out of holes but there were not moving. I removed some stuff that was slimy and appeared dead.

I have just noticed that you can cycle your tank for the first time with LR but it is suggested that you do 50% water changes every other day. By putting this rock in my 75 gal tank vs and 22 gallon bucket, I am changing alot more water. I assumed that by doing the water changes, I am not killing as much on the LR or it is allowing it to come back to life quicker.

Plus I am wondering after a few months if I will see worms or critters and such or if it will just be algea and stuff.

If this stuff in one of the suggested reading books, please say so. I have not went out and got any yet.

 

[fishfreek]

Ellisz, Nature takes time so while your tank is cycling you can get a few books and read up on some things or read up on posts here.

Some of the critters that live in the rock come out at night more often than during the day. If you wait a few hours after lights off and use a flashlight you might see some small crustations and such.

Robert Fenner has a great book that I suggest all beginners get.

 

[ellisz]

Thanks fishfreek. I have read a lot but some things click more than others

My wife thinks I spend too much time on here

 

[fishfreek]

Doing water changes now during the cycle will aid in retaning the life that is on the rock. I recall when I started tanks that I thought my rock was dead. I did not see anything in the way of life from the rock. All I saw was a bunch of purple colored rocks and at one point I acutally thought they where spraypaint vs corline because of how much of them was covered.

Over time I saw more and more things growing on the rock or living within the rock.