As the title states I wondered the thoughts of others if adding some live rock to a bare bottom tank started with dry rock would be a good way to add some more bio diversity. A new LFS opened up recently and they have some Bali live rock from a coral grower for sale. I am tempted to put it in my tank to kick start it a bit more. I know there are risks of pests but they seem to come on with coral frags eventually even with dipping. My tank is definitely not where I thought it would be after almost a year. The idea was a mainly sps tank, so far the testers I have put in have not made it. The last time I tried was three months ago. I have a torch and a Goni that are doing great. Not sure 10 lbs or so of quality live rock would help things out or not. Parameters appear to be good when I test. 1.026, 78 degrees. NO3 around .5-1ppm, PO4 .03-.08. Lit with kessil/ t5 combo. Keep alk around 7.5. Calcium 420-440. Use 0 tds RO/DI water for top off and saltwater. I have not done an ICP test.
Add real live rock to an 11month old BB tank
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it would certainly help. The key to minimize dieoff is to select rocks that aren’t fresh received but have been in a reef tank. Make em sell you their best cured rock from their dt and they reuse the new import stuff in their dt
in that case the cured rock can be instantly moved to your tank w no harm or cycle or loss.
in that case the cured rock can be instantly moved to your tank w no harm or cycle or loss.
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how many lbs of rock do you have for what gallon tank? i would load it up with live rock. dont add any sps or montis for a few months just in case there are pests. without food the pests will die. if tank runs a mini cycle again, who cares there isnt much in there...a mini cycle might be good to boost the system on the back end...
Roughly 100lbs in there now. It is a 160 gallon tank. I have a lot of fish so really don’t want them to die. The rock is cycled. It is in a big Rubbermaid tub heated and circulated. I would transfer some to my house and keep it submerged during the car ride.
Any pics? I would get a rubbermaid and put all the rock in it at temp and sg with heater and powerhead. Keep it running and add a rock a week. That would be the safest method if the tank is stocked with fish and inverts.
You could test for ammonia and nitrite too. If none is measured you should be good to go. I still would only add 1 or 2 pieces every other week just to be safe.
You could test for ammonia and nitrite too. If none is measured you should be good to go. I still would only add 1 or 2 pieces every other week just to be safe.
I had no issue adding 10lbs of KPaquatics live rock to my system which was started with about 30lbs of dry rock. I do run a big marinepure block in the sump so that probably helped with the die off. But I saw no ammonia spike. I actually plan to order more in the spring to replace the dry rock I got.
Every system is different, so I can’t say it will work the same way with you. I was worried about the die off especially since the rock was delivered in wet paper towel. Worked out great. But now I need to aquascape again.
Edit: I should add that I did the high salinity dip as stated on KPA website to get any crabs off. I ended up getting a live pencil urchin. I also rinsed the rock to grt any loose debris out before adding to the display.
Every system is different, so I can’t say it will work the same way with you. I was worried about the die off especially since the rock was delivered in wet paper towel. Worked out great. But now I need to aquascape again.
Edit: I should add that I did the high salinity dip as stated on KPA website to get any crabs off. I ended up getting a live pencil urchin. I also rinsed the rock to grt any loose debris out before adding to the display.
If you keep the rock submerged I can't see you having an issue. I can't stand my dry rock now LOL. I think biodiversity is extremely important for a healthy tank with sps. I had a frogskin acro in the beginning that was doing good for a few weeks and then I lost it. Parameters were good but I think the tank was too sterile for it. Now I am actually noticing polyps where I cut it off my rock. I should have left it in there, but it seems that the live rock is already helping my system and it has only been a week or two.
DesertReefT4r
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Yes do it! I was hoping some real live rock would start to come in once Bali and Indo started shipping again. If thats the case its great news to all of us who have issues with dinos or keeping sps alive in a dry rock tank. Live rock is the key to a successful sps tank imo. 10 lbs sounds like a good amount to add and futher seed you dry rock. I would put it in a small tank or 5g bucket and cure it to make sure all th die off from shipping has broken down.
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