[andy]

Help im about to set up a new salty tank and was wondering if live rock is really needed in my tank
Im going to be running the following.....
97lt tank
protien skimmer,trickle filter,uv filter and an external cannister filter (440lph)and a sand substrate.
Do i need live rock or can i use some tufa instead any help/advise VERY VERY welcome

[volitan_fa]

Well, IMO, live rock is one of the most crucial things to keeping your tank stable. That being said, live rock is not necessary. Another option you may look at is buying base rock ('dead' rock) and seeding it with just a little live rock. Eventually the base rock would become live rock, and cost you a lot less.

[andy]

HI, and thanks for your advise, by dead rock do you mean tufa rock or will any kind "marine rock" do for seeding.............Also how much is a "little" livr rock are we talking a couple of pounds to get things started off??

[ericwebster]

Well "Live rock" is just another type of filtration - biological filtration to be exact. Its not actually the rock which is beneficial, its the bacteria in the rock which helps keep the water clean of fish waste.

The bacteria can (and will) grow on anything .. live rock is just a easy way of getting this bacteria in your tank quickly kick started and provide the fish some place to hide to reduce thier stress.

Cheers

[ericwebster]

Originally Posted by andy

HI, and thanks for your advise, by dead rock do you mean tufa rock or will any kind "marine rock" do for seeding.............Also how much is a "little" livr rock are we talking a couple of pounds to get things started off??

All depends on your Bio Load. If you have only one fish then you may only need a small piece (5lbs) of live rock to keep him happy and the water cleans, but as you increase your bio load your tank will always need to "mini-cycle" again as all tanks do ..

As fish create waste, bacteria builds up in the rock (sand, gravel, glass, whatever) to negate that waste and convert it to among other things, oxygen. When you add new fish, you add more waste, you need to give the bacteria time to build up and negate the new waste so the fishes are not swiming in thier own "stew".

The reason why I say this is because, you need to do everything slowly. Only bad things happen quickly.

Add fish slowly, remove live rock slowly ...

Read up on Biological Filtration, but thats the skinny.

[dfurbee]

I was not going to add live rock either, but I did. It was the best thing that has happened to my tank!! The water is crystal clear, it almost looks invisible. IMO it is best to add live rock! Deb

[andy]

this is all really helpful stuff,How would i go about "seeding" dead rock using live rock
Im in no hurry to get fish in my tank just wanna get the chemistry right first!

[nobomb17]

Live rock is not needed but recommended. You might not be able to stock as many fish in your tank.

[ericwebster]

Andy to get "dry" (dead) rock to be live rock, i just needs to be in an established aquarium for a while. Most "dry" rock is clear of any algae, after its been in your aquarium for a few months it will be a totally diffrent colore nd full of life and algae.