Live rock / Fish only questions

[kurt]

Is there a considerable benefit to the fish in setting up a fish only aquarium with LR? Since many of the fish that I'm interested in collecting are not 'reef friendly', isn't it a waste of a LOT of money to invest in live rock? Base rock would eventually develop the beneficial bacteria and if you use the same type of rock that makes up LR, you'll get the buffering benefit, also.

Are there organisms in LR other than bacteria that will provide additional water conditioning benefits? I'm not planning to invest in reef lighting so between that and the 'fish assult' is there a benefit that still justifies the expense?

 

[fishfreek]

When a fish is described as reef friendly or not reef friendly they are usually refering to either a) the fish's appitite for corals or b) the fish's appitite for other inverterbirts we keep in our reefs like shrimp or crabs.

Live rock will not only have the bactera on it but is usually covered with the colorful coraline algae as well as other macro algaes and on occasion hitchikers like crabs, and shrimp and such.

The other life that is on the rock will not directly affect the water quality but can indirectly affect it by consuming fish waste and uneaten food that would normally go untouched.