How long until my rocks mature

[Miami Reef]

Man, I love those OLD dark rocks. The coralline is cool, but what I really like are the sponges and the growth it has.

My tank has been through a roller coaster this year because I had to keep taking and removing rocks because my fish had ich.

But the rocks have been in the tank untouched for 2 months already. I’m having pretty good coralline algae growth. Especially on my walls and equipment. Less on the rocks, but it’s growing.

Here’s the honest truth: I haven’t tested my nitrates nor phosphates in months!!! I don’t have fish, and I’m barely feeding AND I’m still doing my filter maintenance etc. I don’t have any algae growth.

My rocks look kind of white. It looked so much better when it had that dark green algae tint. I hate the white/gray dry rock look.


Will keeping nutrients stable at phosphates .1ppm and nitrates at 5ppm help with my rock maturing?

I’m dosing calcium and alkalinity.

What other hacks can I use to make my rocks desirable for life to grow?

Im not looking for magic overnight in a bottle tricks. Im looking for husbandry hacks.

Like:

1. does slightly higher temps increase growth rate?

2. Will weekly carbon dosing encourage growth?

3. Will higher nutrients grow organisms better? (I will test nutrients tomorrow).

I’m going to start silicate dosing soon. Very small doses to start because I LOVE sponge.

Is my “hack” list good? Or am I mistaken?

Here’s my dream rock

It looks so good.

Looking back at the first picture, I ESPECIALLY like that fuzzy stuff growing over the rock. What is that fuzzy stuff?

 

[WheatToast]

Man, I love those OLD dark rocks. The coralline is cool, but what I really like are the sponges and the growth it has.

My tank has been through a roller coaster this year because I had to keep taking and removing rocks because my fish had ich.

But the rocks have been in the tank untouched for 2 months already. I’m having pretty good coralline algae growth. Especially on my walls and equipment. Less on the rocks, but it’s growing.

Here’s the honest truth: I haven’t tested my nitrates nor phosphates in months!!! I don’t have fish, and I’m barely feeding AND I’m still doing my filter maintenance etc. I don’t have any algae growth.

My rocks look kind of white. It looked so much better when it had that dark green algae tint. I hate the white/gray dry rock look.


Will keeping nutrients stable at phosphates .1ppm and nitrates at 5ppm help with my rock maturing?

I’m dosing calcium and alkalinity.

What other hacks can I use to make my rocks desirable for life to grow?

Im not looking for magic overnight in a bottle tricks. Im looking for husbandry hacks.

Like:

1. does slightly higher temps increase growth rate?

2. Will weekly carbon dosing encourage growth?

3. Will higher nutrients grow organisms better? (I will test nutrients tomorrow).

I’m going to start silicate dosing soon. Very small doses to start because I LOVE sponge.

Is my “hack” list good? Or am I mistaken?

Here’s my dream rock

It looks so good.

Looking back at the first picture, I ESPECIALLY like that fuzzy stuff growing over the rock. What is that fuzzy stuff?

I don’t have specific tips, but here is my experience. In my old temperate system, it took about a third of a year for my dry rocks to go “dark” and become coated in macro-life after seeding LFS live rock. Those were freshwater dry rocks… alongside freshwater sand… in a system that rarely had its protein skimmer used and almost never received water changes. This probably sped up the process, however. As a result, the water was discolored with algae and proteins (this probably fed my pineapple sponges and spirorbid worms) and the dark algae probably found it easier to settle (since spores were not actively being removed). Unfortunately, I never escaped the diatom phase, however (actually, this probably helped my micro brittle star population).

Also, about that fuzz. I have achieved it by… coating diatoms and biofilm in sand dust . I am pretty sure that’s how it works in the wild as well.

 

[Dolphins18]

Man, I love those OLD dark rocks. The coralline is cool, but what I really like are the sponges and the growth it has.

My tank has been through a roller coaster this year because I had to keep taking and removing rocks because my fish had ich.

But the rocks have been in the tank untouched for 2 months already. I’m having pretty good coralline algae growth. Especially on my walls and equipment. Less on the rocks, but it’s growing.

Here’s the honest truth: I haven’t tested my nitrates nor phosphates in months!!! I don’t have fish, and I’m barely feeding AND I’m still doing my filter maintenance etc. I don’t have any algae growth.

My rocks look kind of white. It looked so much better when it had that dark green algae tint. I hate the white/gray dry rock look.


Will keeping nutrients stable at phosphates .1ppm and nitrates at 5ppm help with my rock maturing?

I’m dosing calcium and alkalinity.

What other hacks can I use to make my rocks desirable for life to grow?

Im not looking for magic overnight in a bottle tricks. Im looking for husbandry hacks.

Like:

1. does slightly higher temps increase growth rate?

2. Will weekly carbon dosing encourage growth?

3. Will higher nutrients grow organisms better? (I will test nutrients tomorrow).

I’m going to start silicate dosing soon. Very small doses to start because I LOVE sponge.

Is my “hack” list good? Or am I mistaken?

Here’s my dream rock

It looks so good.

Looking back at the first picture, I ESPECIALLY like that fuzzy stuff growing over the rock. What is that fuzzy stuff?

Most rocks that come from the Gulf will look like that, the problem is most of the stuff dies off in an aquarium setting.
Carbon dosing would likely inhibit growth.

 

[Dkmoo]

nutrient is key. silicate is nice and all but it's not "food" for sponges, maybe add a small amount of reef roid, phyto, or rotifers. nitrates only help bacteria and algae. Tiny particulate foods help the organisms slightly higher on the food chain. Even if you don't currently have enough to consume them, they'll break down to no3/po4 anyway and still help the bottom layer of the food chain.

add a seed will speed up the process.

Trigger those ugly phases!

 

[Miami Reef]

My rocks used to look decent but it feels like overnight they looked dead. My corals had some burnt tips too.

My tank is fallow. I run my filter socks and skimmer. And I do occasional water changes.
I just tested my phosphates with Red Sea phosphate pro (more accurate than Hannah). Guess what I got? 0.00 phosphates!!!! Not even 0.01ppm!!!!! Even my green hair algae died off!

I realized my problem. I barely feed at all during my fallow.

Ok. I just fed. @Dkmoo I literally thought silicates were sponge food omg. Thank you for this clarification! I’m really happy I found this problem before my corals died off. My clams are still alive.

I just fed reef roids, Red Sea amino acids, and LRS reef frenzy. I didn’t overdose.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Took me about 30 years to mature, although I hear rocks can get there quicker

 

[Dkmoo]

My rocks used to look decent but it feels like overnight they looked dead. My corals had some burnt tips too.

My tank is fallow. I run my filter socks and skimmer. And I do occasional water changes.
I just tested my phosphates with Red Sea phosphate pro (more accurate than Hannah). Guess what I got? 0.00 phosphates!!!! Not even 0.01ppm!!!!! Even my green hair algae died off!

I realized my problem. I barely feed at all during my fallow.

Ok. I just fed. @Dkmoo I literally thought silicates were sponge food omg. Thank you for this clarification! I’m really happy I found this problem before my corals died off. My clams are still alive.

I just fed reef roids, Red Sea amino acids, and LRS reef frenzy. I didn’t overdose.

OOO - i thought your tank was just rocks that you are trying to age and add biodiversity b/c i thought i had read your other thread somewhere that you moved all the fish/corals.

If you still have corals in there then yes, gotta watch those excess nutrient levels. still gotta feed them but don't go over board, and i take back what i said about "triggering the ugly phase" - it can speed up the aging process but it can also be bad for your corals.

it sounds like you are already aware of these and have been diligent with testing for levels and husbandry. fish poop is a big part of coral fertilizer so without fish you'll need to do more work to keep the corals and clam fed. I think the key for you then is just to focus on keeping the coral/clam healthy. Esp with the clam you will have to broadcast feed, this will take care of the clam as well as all the other little critters/sponges so the rock aging will take care of itself.