New to forum...Hi

[scubarod]

Hi all.

i have a tonne of questions. I have done the fresh water fish for a long time now. It is time to try marine fish. my first question is.....Is live rock really needed.? and can live rock grow on its own in a tank with proper lighting and filtration?

Rod

 

[stephenray75]

no you dont have to have LR but it helps with the filtration. with proper calcium and light the coraline on it will grow and spread to your glass and other things. I ran a 90 gallon tank with only 40Lbs of LR. If you dont have LR you need to make sure you have a good filter and protien skimmer.

 

[scubarod]

How long does it take for LR to get stablished ina new tank. If i were to but plain lava rock and let the tank cycle. would i need a goby or two to start the process or will proper lighs and filtration do its thing and grow the bacteria(thats what is in the actual live rock right?)

Rod

 

[nooberpie]

I had 21 pounds of live rock and live sand in my 29 gal, let it sit for a week with everything on, and it was cycled. nothing has died since. make sure the live rock is cured tho. You want to smell it. If it smells really bad its not cured, if it doesnt have a stench really, it is cured. cured rock is a bit more expensive but non cured rock needs to be cured and it takes like 1-3 weeks.

 

[Gealcath]

Live Rocj refers to rock that is collected from the ocean, it has all sorts of marine life like corals, sponges, algaes, and hitchhikers good and bad. The only way these can be in a new aquarium is to introduce them from an outside source. Also any type of porous rock will work, Tufa rock which is calcium based is a better alternative to lava rock. However any type of base rock will eventually do the filtration LR does, you just wont have all the neat little critters that come with LR.