Question about making dry rock live rock

[exnisstech]

I am in the process of bleaching a batch of rock to rescape one of my tanks. The rock is old live rock that I had stored that's the reason I'm bleaching it. I have an established 180 gallon with a 125 gallon sump. Im trying to find info but not having luck getting a positive answer so here I am again turning to the R2R experts. You folks are awwaome to by the way. Once I'm done bleaching the rock, rinsing, dechorinating etc I plan on building the rockscape outside of the tank. Once I have the scape built I plan on placing it in the sump of the up and running tank (it's been running for several years) to seed it. The scape is going into a much smaller tanks so it will fit into one of the sump chambers. My question is how long will I need to leave it in there before it becomes live rock? I read anywhere from 48 hours to 6 months that's why I'm asking here. I'm thinking this will be faster than curing it in a container with a power head and an a couple of peices of love rock but maybe I'm wrong?

 

[blaxsun]

I populated about 75lbs of dry Marco shelf rock in a 50-gallon Rubbermaid trough and it left it for about 4-6 weeks before introducing into my main tank (this method probably took longer than what you're planning with your sump). You could always just put the rock in the new tank, add BIO-Spira and you're good to go the same day.

 

[exnisstech]

I populated about 75lbs of dry Marco shelf rock in a 50-gallon Rubbermaid trough and it left it for about 4-6 weeks before introducing into my main tank (this method probably took longer than what you're planning with your sump). You could always just put the rock in the new tank, add BIO-Spira and you're good to go the same day.

The tank it will be going has been up running for a little over 3 years. I have some marine pure blocks in that sump. I I'm just not happy with the rock scape that's the reason I'm going down this road. Maybe I would be better off just pulling the rock out that's in there now and just putting the new rock in and letting it seed in there? I have quite a few sps frags and a couple of LPS colonies in there now that I don't want to risk killing. I only have two fish so they could go into the other sump of needed. Heck I supposed I could pull everything and put it into the 180 gallon for the time being since there is room and most of the frags are on magnetic racks. Just thinking out loud now

 

[ReefEco]

Dry rock to live rock is all a matter of degrees - it can only take days to populate with bacteria, weeks for pods and other microfauna, and months to become completely encrusted with coralline and go from white to purple adding it to the sump of an established tank as you are planning (will it be under some light?) I did basically what you are doing for my 400g - built the aquascape in pieces and put it into a bin for 2 months with a heater, flow, etc. and added bacteria and occasional food to keep things going. Once I added it to the tank, it probably took another 4 months to get fully encrusted in coralline.

 

[exnisstech]

There are lights and an enormous pod population in the sump already. I'm not too concerned with coralline as I know it takes longer. Basically looking for the best and fastest (I know an oxymoron) to get it so it's able to support the corals mostly and hoping not to get everything covered in hair alage.

 

[ReefEco]

Longer the better of course, but if you are just wanting to seed it with bacteria, I would give it at least a couple weeks. And if you are worried about algae during that time, turn the light off - bacteria don't need it...

 

[Dan_P]

I am in the process of bleaching a batch of rock to rescape one of my tanks. The rock is old live rock that I had stored that's the reason I'm bleaching it. I have an established 180 gallon with a 125 gallon sump. Im trying to find info but not having luck getting a positive answer so here I am again turning to the R2R experts. You folks are awwaome to by the way. Once I'm done bleaching the rock, rinsing, dechorinating etc I plan on building the rockscape outside of the tank. Once I have the scape built I plan on placing it in the sump of the up and running tank (it's been running for several years) to seed it. The scape is going into a much smaller tanks so it will fit into one of the sump chambers. My question is how long will I need to leave it in there before it becomes live rock? I read anywhere from 48 hours to 6 months that's why I'm asking here. I'm thinking this will be faster than curing it in a container with a power head and an a couple of peices of love rock but maybe I'm wrong?

Is the sump dark or illuminated?

 

[Dburr1014]

I would agree, couple weeks and you have a healthy bacteria population.
IMO, wait until you see some coraline start encrusting. Then it should be good to go.

 

[exnisstech]

Is the sump dark or illuminated?

It is illuminated.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The tank it will be going has been up running for a little over 3 years. I have some marine pure blocks in that sump. I I'm just not happy with the rock scape that's the reason I'm going down this road. Maybe I would be better off just pulling the rock out that's in there now and just putting the new rock in and letting it seed in there? I have quite a few sps frags and a couple of LPS colonies in there now that I don't want to risk killing. I only have two fish so they could go into the other sump of needed.

Do this ^^^
Ammonia won't harm corals at all, and I doubt you need any extra bacteria if you only have 2 fish and are keeping the media in the sump. The rock itself won't add to the bioload.
If you want to be completely safe, add the new scape and pour in a bottle of Bio Spira or Fritz Turbo Start.

 

[G Santana]

I had dead rock sitting in my basement for 25 yrs, I hosed it off, placed it in the tank, added two bottles of Fritzyme 9 and added two fish.
The rocks slowly started to look like live rock. 1 year in I have a lot of coraline algae, sponges and little feathers. All these came in as hitchhikers and have thrived.
No fuss no muss.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

There are lights and an enormous pod population in the sump already. I'm not too concerned with coralline as I know it takes longer. Basically looking for the best and fastest (I know an oxymoron) to get it so it's able to support the corals mostly and hoping not to get everything covered in hair alage.

You might not be able to easily avoid some algae, but, again, the tank will support coral from day one of the new scape, especially since you are keeping the media in the sump that's already mature.
As an example, I added a small piece of new dry rock to a tank that's been running for 5 years and it became covered in algae until my cuc found it (turbo snails) and once coralline took over the rock it was fine.

 

[ButteMTDIY]

Do you have a sand bed?
In my very limited experience doing something Ike this I’ve found it takes very little time for bacteria to establish. Throw it in your display and lighten up your feedings for a bit.

 

[Dan_P]

It is illuminated.

Placing a clean aragonite rock in an illuminated sump will result in microorganisms settling on the surface. In just one one hour, the rock surface will be widely settled but not with a very diverse number. The bacterial biofilm starts to form quickly, but again it is not a very diverse one. It is home to only the early colonizers. If nothing else settles, this first colony can give you an algae covered rock In about 1-2 weeks. If the rocks aren’t grazed, it could be months before they have a good coralline covering. If the rocks continue to sit in the sump, the surfaces will continue to develop a more complex community of organisms after several months. If the rocks are continuously grazed, this complex community might be less likely to be infested by nuisance organisms. It takes time for the biofilm and attached community of organisms to develop. There are no short cuts.

If you wanted a biofilm with minimal algae, a dark sump would be the way to go. The development time is still months, and the rock will be white and possibly covered with filter feeders like sponge and small fan worms.

If you just want nitrifying bacteria biofilm, add the rock and a bottle of nitrifying bacteria.

 

[tnw50cal]

Placing a clean aragonite rock in an illuminated sump will result in microorganisms settling on the surface. In just one one hour, the rock surface will be widely settled but not with a very diverse number. The bacterial biofilm starts to form quickly, but again it is not a very diverse one. It is home to only the early colonizers. If nothing else settles, this first colony can give you an algae covered rock In about 1-2 weeks. If the rocks aren’t grazed, it could be months before they have a good coralline covering. If the rocks continue to sit in the sump, the surfaces will continue to develop a more complex community of organisms after several months. If the rocks are continuously grazed, this complex community might be less likely to be infested by nuisance organisms. It takes time for the biofilm and attached community of organisms to develop. There are no short cuts.

If you wanted a biofilm with minimal algae, a dark sump would be the way to go. The development time is still months, and the rock will be white and possibly covered with filter feeders like sponge and small fan worms.

If you just want nitrifying bacteria biofilm, add the rock and a bottle of nitrifying bacteria.

This,this and this. Could not have said it better.

 

[exnisstech]

Placing a clean aragonite rock in an illuminated sump will result in microorganisms settling on the surface. In just one one hour, the rock surface will be widely settled but not with a very diverse number. The bacterial biofilm starts to form quickly, but again it is not a very diverse one. It is home to only the early colonizers. If nothing else settles, this first colony can give you an algae covered rock In about 1-2 weeks. If the rocks aren’t grazed, it could be months before they have a good coralline covering. If the rocks continue to sit in the sump, the surfaces will continue to develop a more complex community of organisms after several months. If the rocks are continuously grazed, this complex community might be less likely to be infested by nuisance organisms. It takes time for the biofilm and attached community of organisms to develop. There are no short cuts.

If you wanted a biofilm with minimal algae, a dark sump would be the way to go. The development time is still months, and the rock will be white and possibly covered with filter feeders like sponge and small fan worms.

If you just want nitrifying bacteria biofilm, add the rock and a bottle of nitrifying bacteria.

Thanks for the explanation Dan_P. Since there really is no short cut would you recommend I skip adding the rock to the other sump and instead just place it in the tank it is intended for and just let things run their course in there since that tank is already established and has biomedia in the sump? If so would I be better off moving the coral out so I won't have to run lights as bright or as long? Do you have a recommendation on a lighting schedule while the rock is maturing? I don't want to run with no lights to avoid algae only to have it appear later rather than sooner. Sorry for all the questions.
Oh and all my tanks are bare bottom if that matters.

 

[Dan_P]

Thanks for the explanation Dan_P. Since there really is no short cut would you recommend I skip adding the rock to the other sump and instead just place it in the tank it is intended for and just let things run their course in there since that tank is already established and has biomedia in the sump? If so would I be better off moving the coral out so I won't have to run lights as bright or as long? Do you have a recommendation on a lighting schedule while the rock is maturing? I don't want to run with no lights to avoid algae only to have it appear later rather than sooner. Sorry for all the questions.
Oh and all my tanks are bare bottom if that matters.

Tough questions to answer. Others have done what you want to try and hopefully they will chime in.

The wild card for me is what is the best course of action for the coral.

The new rocks will most likely go through an ugly phase but possibly not like a new tank because they are sitting in an established system rather than a new one. I am not aware of an optimum lighting schedule to avoid algae growth. @Lasse will have something very useful to say here. My thinking is a normal light schedule and let the biofilm and algae run their course. I assume there will be healthy snails around to graze down the algae. Hopefully coralline growth is good in your system because that could help keep the rocks clear of GHA.

 

[Lasse]

I am not aware of an optimum lighting schedule to avoid algae growth. @Lasse will have something very useful to say here.

It is a two side coin - production and consumption - IMO - the optimal light input at a given movement is that light schedule that give an algae growth that is around 99 % of what your grazers manage to eat at this given moment. If GHA take over - the growth exceed the consumption. Lower the light - lower the production.

If you have a working system - I would only rinse (briefly) the rocks and just put them in. If it many rocks - support with some bacteria blend in a bottle or - if you live near the coast - collect some sediments and dose. If you use rocks that have been mined from ancient coral reefs on dry land- be aware that they can work as a PO4 magnets and totally zeroing your dissolved PO4.

The corals will work well - if you get a large enough CUC - you can follow your present light schedule. Be aware - that you should introduce the CUC ASAP - long time before you see any algae. If you wait till you see the algae - you have lost the battle already.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dan_P]

It is a two side coin - production and consumption - IMO - the optimal light input at a given movement is that light schedule that give an algae growth that is around 99 % of what your grazers manage to eat at this given moment. If GHA take over - the growth exceed the consumption. Lower the light - lower the production.

If you have a working system - I would only rinse (briefly) the rocks and just put them in. If it many rocks - support with some bacteria blend in a bottle or - if you live near the coast - collect some sediments and dose. If you use rocks that have been mined from ancient coral reefs on dry land- be aware that they can work as a PO4 magnets and totally zeroing your dissolved PO4.

The corals will work well - if you get a large enough CUC - you can follow your present light schedule. Be aware - that you should introduce the CUC ASAP - long time before you see any algae. If you wait till you see the algae - you have lost the battle already.

Sincerely Lasse

This is brilliant! Thanks

 

[exnisstech]

The corals will work well - if you get a large enough CUC - you can follow your present light schedule. Be aware - that you should introduce the CUC ASAP - long time before you see any algae. If you wait till you see the algae - you have lost the battle already.

Thats where I'm sitting now as far as alage. Rocks are covered in hair alage and plugs have to be cleaned almost daily. I have a couple of tuxedo urchins but it's too late and they are starting in on the corraline (which I have a lot of) instead of the long hair algae. I think I'll pull what few frags I have on the rock and get them up on the racks. Leave the LPS on the bare bottom and run lighting as normal since corals are doing well under them, they are my main concern. I'll pick up some turbo snails and have a lawnmower blenny already so will leave that fat boy in there. I'll probably pull my copper band just to be safe since it is doing very well and eating good and home it in the sump on my other system for safekeeping just in case I get an ammonia spike tho there really shouldn't be any die off using sanitized rock but better safe than sorry. I should have the new rockscape assembled next week so we'll see how this goes. I have a lot of smaller rocks and even a small tote of rubble in my larger systems sump so I'll add some of that to this sump along with the existing marine pure blocks in there. That should give me decent bio filter since there will only be one fish no? I attached an image showing the block in there. It is at least 2 years in water.
Thanks for everyone's help. I've only been at this for a few years this time around so still learning a lot. My first attempt was years ago before the internet so the local library was my only sources of information. It wasnt long before I retreated back to fresh water.