Pretty cool find if you ask me! Good luck with the move, that sounds like a huge task. Great find with the cryptic zone information I think that will definitely help with maturing the reef after the move!Yep, a plating red monti cap was growing between two rocks and I really hated how the aquascape looked. When I tore it apart I found this huge sponge.
My wife and I are moving over the next year. Her job starts in July in the new city, mine later next year... so two houses for a year and I’m wondering how to safely move my reef... so I have some live rock I can split between the old/new tanks, but have been reading on how to accelerate the maturation process. That’s when I started really digging into the cryptic threads, etc.
So I’ll be ordering from reef farmers sometime in the Fall.
In my original post I was hoping to get at the time for dry rock to function like the rock that you would get from places like KP Aquatics or Tampa Bay Saltwater (live rock that has been aquacultured for several years in the ocean that comes with all sorts of diverse life). I want to know more than just being able to complete the nitrogen cycle, Im talking more about the diversity. I know that our glass boxes will never be a true replication of an ocean reef but there is a point in a tank's maturation process that it finally hits a stride with not only being able to handle nutrients and not have nuisance algae but it also has all of the sponges, worms, pods etc. that aid in increasing its biological function. I appreciate your thoughts!I think the question is flawed.
How long until dry rock functions as ocean live rock?
In what context?
Cycle? Weeks
Encrusting algae? Months
Biodiversity? Never
Most people voted from 6 months to 2 years. And yes this is true for cycling and allowing the bacterial population to reach some sort of stability but is it anywhere near live rock from a natural reef in terms of biodiversity and bacterial diversity ? Never.
Glad to hear that the live rock helped your tank! Its an interesting observation that even after several months, the life from the live rock hasn't moved over to the dry rock. This really touches on the point of this thread. Even after seeding the tank, how long will it take for that dry rock to essentially be the same as the live rock that you bought? When will the entire aquascape be live and mature? These are definitely difficult questions and the answers will be anecdotal at best but its always nice to hear the diverse opinions of the reefing community on what works, what doesn't and how long some of these processes take.Hard question to answer imo. Obviously if its not seeded it can take forever to get a diverse population microfauna in the tank. Especially the way we dip corals. Even then I feel it wouldn’t ever be the same as live rock. But I am no expert. Maybe I have never had a tank set up long enough to see it happen.
My past two tanks were set up with either only live rock, or a mix of dry and live. My recent tank was started with dry because its so much easier to aquascape. Once I was ready, I finished with KP Aquatics live rock and it has really changed my tank for the best. Lots of creatures in that rock. I was lucky enough not to get any bad stuff. I was having issues with dusty diatoms but they disappeared after a few days of adding the live rock. However, even four months in most microfauna prefers the live rock and hasn’t spread much to the dry, besides coraline algae. I don’t see any worms, or even pods on that rock. Maybe it needs more time, idk.
I am a fan of live rock, I have more success with it. But to each their own! There are beautiful tanks with dry rock. But I have always had algae problems with dry.