Hey everyone, I know that live rock (hitchhikers included) is basically the industry gold standard, but I'm looking at doing a "budget" tank at some point in the future. So, I was wondering if I could get a good amount of high-quality micro diversity in my tank by using (for example) like 10 lbs of live rock to seed the tank while using 65 lbs of dry rock for the bulk of the tank. If so, about how long would it take for the microbiome to establish throughout the tank, and would there be any foreseeable problems with doing things this way?
(P.s. I know this hobby is about patience, and I have no problems with waiting for the tank to seed properly. My goal would be to establish a good microbiome before adding any livestock anyway, so I'm fine if that means I need to wait a few weeks/months for the bacteria colonies to establish throughout the tank.)
(P.s. I know this hobby is about patience, and I have no problems with waiting for the tank to seed properly. My goal would be to establish a good microbiome before adding any livestock anyway, so I'm fine if that means I need to wait a few weeks/months for the bacteria colonies to establish throughout the tank.)