Live Rock Dead Rock

[Casino]

Does dead rock eventually turn into live rock? Im asking this cause all I have are like 4 pieces of live rock and 10 pieces of dead rock in a 29g. I dont have a dsb, just florida crushed corals. I read in one of the posts that live rock and dsb help to remove nitrates. Since I dont have a dsb I thought I could do it with the live rock. I also read somewhere that I could add live sand to the crushed coral and it would work kinda the same as a dsb and help out in the removing of the nitrates......altho I was advised not to, just to remove the corals and put in the dsb. I was also told that eventually by mixing live sand with crushed coral, that all the critters that would be born in a dsb will aslo be born in the mix of crushed coral and live sand.......any truth in this?

Please help me out here...

Thanks.

 

[OrionGirl]

Depending on what kind of rock you're calling dead rock, it might become 'live'. Good live rock is very porous, so provides lots of surface area for bacteria to live on, in addition to being home to a variety of algae, critters, sponges, and corals. The exterior of any rock will become encrusted, but it might not contribute as much to the bacteria bed. Live rock won't function exactly as a DSB. The DSB works by providing areas with little oxygen, where nitrates can be broken down. These conditions can exist in rock, but the DSB is more efficient about it--the rock tends towards no oxygen instead of just low oxygen.

Mixing CC and sand will result in the sand settling to the bottom. It can work, but not as well. Some of the critters that thrive in a s DSB won't do as well in CC.