Got my first batch of LIFE Rock

[Mattscubeofwater]

I thought I would put this thread together as there really was a lot of conflicting info on Life rock when I was researching it.


I ordered 80lbs if this stuff and have started working with it. I’ve also reached out to the company to dispel any bad info.

-Rock should come dry. If it’s wet someone put it in a tank somewhere and as such it could have pests from the fish store. My LFS has it in a tank next to the Live rock tank and they told me it has to be kept wet lol. The Carib sea rep said they have no control over how it is sold by retailers but i should look for dry product.


- bacteria is activated once it is placed in water


- no curing, rinsing or scrubbing needed. I know this one seems obvious but there are threads on the forum that tell people it needs to be cured prior to use.


- I’m currently drilling holes in it to aquascape with rods. It drills very well and doesn’t break apart


- the rock looks stunning and has the feel and look of real rock. I can’t tell the difference.


Here are some pics of the types of pieces I got. I ordered 2 40lb lots of it. This is the regular stuff, no shelf or branches. However a lot of shelf like pieces arrived. All pieces were of pretty good size. No rubble

 

[Mattscubeofwater]

Oh yea, I’m modeling my rock after the lands end rock structure in Cabo San Lucas. I’ll post picture when I’m done

 

[brandon429]

Ill add some furthers

-we are going to be stocking corals most likely from same or similar lfs, so the pre wetting they did was helpful. the exposure to HH is ongoing

That rock I bet wont instantly carry bioloading upon hydration from a dried state, it indeed takes a little time for the bacteria to become active and reproduce though I agree they are smartly painted on there/neat rocks.

look aged too, they're awesome. so it does need a little curing/submersion time so that people don't auto assume it can go full bioload as soon as they fill a tank. two weeks is about right but it would be neat if someone simply ammonia tested the system on day 1, day 5, day 15 then we'd know for sure. whenever that 2 ppm verified ammonia hits zero, that's how long they need submersion curing (with liquid ammonium chloride that initial tank fill can be set precisely to 2ppm, then we watch for the drop and count the days)

if they can digest ammonia immediately/amazing

If you would do some detailed ammonia testing Ill make a specific new page on this big cycling thread solely about life rock findings and tests.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/

 

[Mattscubeofwater]

Yes I’ll be sure to do that and thanks for your input. I’ll post the details once I get it up and running


To clarify, it’s not necessarily bad that lfs put the rock in water but one of the big advantages to this stuff is that its pest free. If the LFS put the rock in their tanks your at the mercy of their quarantine practices as they might contaminate it. My LFS put the live rock and the life rock tanks right next to each other and all it takes is a little water from one tank to get into the other. But maybe not, I’d rather get the dry stuff myself

 

[teller]

Live dry rock?!
Always learning.
Unless is like that product from AF, Bio Fill?!?
Or the same process used for bio reef salt, where they put the bacteria, vitamins and amino acids in dry environment.

 

[brandon429]

there's no telling what kind of polymer encapsulation they on these bac containment systems /smart. Technically the bacteria cannot stand desiccation/drying, but with the right topcoat that apparently isn't happening. lifevarnish 2.0. its dormancy mode/rehydration ends that.

good to be in 2017 a bunch of fun stuff is coming about. I can't wait till I can strap high def tv right to my face 24x7 that should be good for the brainstem heh

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Live dry rock?!
Always learning.
Unless is like that product from AF, Bio Fill?!?
Or the same process used for bio reef salt, where they put the bacteria, vitamins and amino acids in dry environment.

Supposedly its dried bacteria spores that are embedded in the added color. I replaced most of my rock with Life Rock shapes and saw no cycle. I love it.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Here is a FTS with the shapes variety. Same stuff but in arch and cave shapes. Ignore the sand bed, in the process of unloading some frags.

 

[brandon429]

I like my reefs that clean looking. purple, excellent health corals and fish so nice

 

[leahfiish]

I used it for my current tank, it's about 1 yr old and looking great, I will purchase more for my upgrade.

 

[Mattscubeofwater]

Ill add some furthers

-

That rock I bet wont instantly carry bioloading upon hydration from a dried state, it indeed takes a little time for the bacteria to become active and reproduce though I agree they are smartly painted on there/neat. so it does need a little curing/submersion time so that people don't auto assume it can go full bioload as soon as they fill a tank. two weeks is about right but it would be neat if someone simply ammonia tested the system on day 1, day 5, day 15 then we'd know for sure. whenever that 2 ppm verified ammonia hits zero, that's how long they need submersion curing (with liquid ammonium chloride that initial tank fill can be set precisely to 2ppm, then we watch for the drop and count the days)



[U RL]https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/[/URL]

I missed this part in your post. For the sake of correctness for others researching this type of rock it DOES NOT need to be cured prior to being put in a tank. There no dead organic matter to be purged as there is with dry rock. It’s never been in the ocean.


I think you meant cycled.... Yes, the rock will need to cycled in your tank for a few weeks while the nitrogen process gets going and time for the bacteria to reactivate

 

[leahfiish]

+1, it's clean, man made, dry rock that has been coated with bacteria and painted. The bacteria "activates" once it's in water. Since it's man made and has never been in the ocean, it wont have dead sponges and things that other dry rock (like pukani) might have. It won't be 100% live immediately, though and I would still add some supplemental bacteria to help your tank cycle a little bit quicker. Also since it doesn't have dead stuff on it, it won't create any ammonia spikes so it should be safe to add to an established tank. Also for a new tank that means you will need to add an ammonia source to get your cycle started.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

+1, it's clean, man made, dry rock that has been coated with bacteria and painted. The bacteria "activates" once it's in water. Since it's man made and has never been in the ocean, it wont have dead sponges and things that other dry rock (like pukani) might have. It won't be 100% live immediately, though and I would still add some supplemental bacteria to help your tank cycle a little bit quicker. Also since it doesn't have dead stuff on it, it won't create any ammonia spikes so it should be safe to add to an established tank. Also for a new tank that means you will need to add an ammonia source to get your cycle started.

It does come slightly dusty with rock/sand dust, so a rinse is a good idea, but I added around 30 lbs to a 40g breeder and my acros didn't bat an eye.

 

[brandon429]

Ideally I’d rather a trusted lfs submerge it in a dedicated fallow vat.

Just wet nothing else

past the seating in period so it’s insta transfer and mega clean. The rinsing and biofilm coating would be solid set and since the rock isn’t from other tanks, no contams

I know that’s against mnfctre recos but I’d like mine pre submerged by someone who knows what they’re doing it would be such a plus. Take from their tank, set in a bucket, drive home, set up a new nano etc




In my opinion, lfs don’t contaminate live rock they simply receive it from up the chain who didn’t spend time hand guiding out species they didn’t want. This stuff looks so real and it won’t have any plants or diatoms etc that’s for sure. If sold from a continually fallow vat the ich quaratine crew could be pleased.

Where are we going to get corals, crabs, shrimp, fish, water etc all from equally careful vector sourcing tho. Although the live rock being pure in origin is handy, there’s not a tank I know of who sourced all materials in the same manner.

 

[Forsaken77]

It's also made of an aragonite base material, and not concrete like other fake rocks. So it will buffer the water like natural rock. I have 180 pounds of it, 140 of regular and 40 of the branches. I think I'm gonna swap out the 40 lbs of branch version for the shapes version instead.

I always try to get folks to buy this stuff because it won't leech anything, looks the best of all fake rock (imho), and has decent porosity that's good for anaerobic bacteria.

 

[UNCFAN]

I was looking for a thread like this one on life rock. I put 120 pounds in my 125 full of new salt water. Setting up new tank. It has been about four weeks and I still cannot run my skimmer because it over flows!!! I have not adding anything else to tank other than rock and salt water. Has anyone else experienced this overflowing of their skimmer?

 

[Nburg's Reef]

I was looking for a thread like this one on life rock. I put 120 pounds in my 125 full of new salt water. Setting up new tank. It has been about four weeks and I still cannot run my skimmer because it over flows!!! I have not adding anything else to tank other than rock and salt water. Has anyone else experienced this overflowing of their skimmer?

Mine did a little, but after letting it overflow for a while, it worked fine.

Is it a new skimmer? Sometimes that can take a while to break in. And in all honesty, you dont really need to skim until you have fish.

 

[UNCFAN]

Thanks Nburg - not a new skimmer and it just over flows and overflows. I wanted to get the skimmer operating correctly before I began to add fish.

 

[Kzguns]

I have it in my tank and haven’t seen any issues. You can also buy 1.5 lbs of rubble as well.

 

[UNCFAN]

Oh, I am not complaining about this rock - looks great right out of box. I guess my question now is - do I have to start the cycle by adding an ammonia source or a uncooked shrimp, etc?