Seeding dry rock

[stanleo]

I got 5 largish pieces of rock and about 10 pounds of rubble from a local reefer. None of it has been in a tank in years according to him and I want to put the big rocks in my DT and the rubble in the new sump once the fish room is done. I want to seed it/cure it not sure what it's called and need some advise please.

Today was water change day so I am soaking the rock in the old water and I had to take a bunch of chaeto out of the fuge so I threw that in there as well. I have a heater and a powerhead in the tub. My questions are, how long should I soak it? How often should I do water changes on the tub and should I provide a light source? Should I feed it and with what? TIA

 

[johnston]

following

 

[johnston]

I have 300 lbs sitting in my floor been dry for 4 to 5 years

 

[piranhaman00]

I’m doing this right now with 80lbs. I have it soaking in fresh saltwater with powerhead and heater, no lights. I added a bottle of biospira and dosed some ammonia to get some bacteria growing on the rock nicely. More importantly, I am monitoring PO4 to make sure there is nothing leaching from the rock.

I am letting it sit a week and if PO4 doesn’t move I’m putting it in the tank, i would consider it live rock because of the seeded bacteria on it and I know it won’t leech PO4.

Dry rock can leech other stuff though such as silicates. I’m not testing for that just keep in mind.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Agree with @piranhaman00 - Cure rock in darkness, with ammonia added to get the nitrogen cycle started. Seed with live sand, cured rock, bacteria supplements. Once completely cycled, add low levels of light and few pounds of cured live rock to get calcareous algae growths started.

 

[LadyTang2]

Agree with @piranhaman00 - Cure rock in darkness, with ammonia added to get the nitrogen cycle started. Seed with live sand, cured rock, bacteria supplements. Once completely cycled, add low levels of light and few pounds of cured live rock to get calcareous algae growths started.

Dana if you were starting a new tank, would you ideally use wild LR, or LFS LR, or seed dry rock? Forgetting price.
@piranhaman00 same question

 

[lapin]

When I was soaking dry rock I tossed in a gallon or so of water each day from my rotifer and pods buckets.
I had to change it anyways so waste not want not.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Dana if you were starting a new tank, would you ideally use wild LR, or LFS LR, or seed dry rock? Forgetting price.
@piranhaman00 same question

Dana if you were starting a new tank, would you ideally use wild LR, or LFS LR, or seed dry rock? Forgetting price.
@piranhaman00 same question

I would (and did) use Florida live rock. @AquaBiomics ran an analysis of bacteria found in my tank, and found it highly diversified ( a good thing) and likely due to using live rock. PM me for a recommended supplier if you wish.

 

[piranhaman00]

Dana if you were starting a new tank, would you ideally use wild LR, or LFS LR, or seed dry rock? Forgetting price.
@piranhaman00 same question

Lots of opinions and threads out there on this. Using dry rock ensures no pests but at the same time ensures no good hitchhikers. Using live rock bought from company will give you great biodiversity as @Dana Riddle mentioned but you can introduce potential pests such as aiptasia. I would prefer live rock, but it’s crazy expensive compared to dry rock so I always go with dry rock that I cycle with biospira. I also always get dinos because there is nothing competing for nutrients right away. I then buy a piece of live rock from lfs and place in tank to help with diversity. Tampa bay live rock (something along those lines) gets great reviews for their rock.

Pros and cons of each, unfortunately, in this debate price is a huge factor between the two especially if starting a large system

 

[Dana Riddle]

Lots of opinions and threads out there on this. Using dry rock ensures no pests but at the same time ensures no good hitchhikers. Using live rock bought from company will give you great biodiversity as @Dana Riddle mentioned but you can introduce potential pests such as aiptasia. I would prefer live rock, but it’s crazy expensive compared to dry rock so I always go with dry rock that I cycle with biospira. I then buy a piece of live rock from lfs and place in tank to help with diversity. Tampa bay live rock (something along those lines) gets great reviews for their rock.

True enough. But adding coral frags will introduce pests as well. Coral frags or their plugs have introduced Bryopsis, Aiptasia, Ulva, etc. to my tank.

 

[piranhaman00]

True enough. But adding coral frags will introduce pests as well. Coral frags or their plugs have introduced Bryopsis, Aiptasia, Ulva, etc. to my tank.

Oh no doubt you are correct ! In ideal conditions however frags would be placed in observation for weeks first but who does that?

I completely agree live rock is the way to go! Just some things to be mindful of when deciding

 

[PghReef]

Has anyone ever studied placing a peace of LR in a tank full of dry and measuring its affect on bio diversity and dino blooms?
Say 50 lbs of dry rock and 5lbs of true LR? Or all dry in a the DT and LR in sump? Or vice versa with LR in DT and dry in sump, how long until the dry matches the rock from the ocean?

 

[Dana Riddle]

Oh no doubt you are correct ! In ideal conditions however frags would be placed in observation for weeks first but who does that?

I completely agree live rock is the way to go! Just some things to be mindful of when deciding

I dipped my corals in a commercially-available dip, unaware it would not deal with nuisances (such as algaes, Aiptasia, etc.) , although it did a good job on coral parasites (at least I haven't had any issues with them).

 

[MTBake]

I agree with what's been posted above. Add some live rock from existing tank, lfs or online source to really seed it well and let it sit in that tub for a few months.

To touch on an earlier post;
I was under the believe that aptasia are not endemic to the gulf coast or Florida keys. Those most likely come from other hobbyists or regions. The main hitchhikers I would be worried about rock from that Florida are invasive macro algae, mantis shrimp, welks and crabs. Even those aren't really that bad to deal with, imo. Disclaimer, I could be totally wrong about the aptasia not being around Florida. I recall reading something to that effect a couple weeks ago and made a mental note to research it more I can say that I haven't seen one yet on 2 orders and 50 total pounds of rock.

 

[Larry L]

But adding coral frags will introduce pests as well. Coral frags or their plugs have introduced Bryopsis, Aiptasia, Ulva, etc. to my tank.

Totally agree. If you look at all the posts about people who started with dry rock and eventually ended up with something invasive in their tank anyway, it makes the argument against using real live rock because of intruders seem weak. Get it up and running for long enough before adding any fish or corals of importance, and you'll be able to discover and deal with anything unwanted that might have come in. I think the benefits of the biodiversity far outweigh the risk in the long run. I recently started up a new 50 gallon tank with live maricultured rock from KP Aquatics, and it's pretty fantastic - lots of cool hitchhikers (snails, sponges, feather dusters, bristle worms, tons of pods, a couple Mithrax crabs, a couple tiny urchins, etc. etc.).

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Would adding some live rock to a tank started with dry rock help to diversify the bioms, or would whatever is already present in the tank (which has been up and running for a couple of years) just take over the live rock?

 

[Dana Riddle]

Would adding some live rock to a tank started with dry rock help to diversify the bioms, or would whatever is already present in the tank (which has been up and running for a couple of years) just take over the live rock?

I don't have any scientific data to back my opinion. But I don't see how it could hurt as far as bacteria and calcareous algae go. Always the possibility of introducing some pest. After curing live rock for months, there still some fire worms in it. I think the rest of the pests were introduced via ceramic coral plugs, even when dipped before adding to the DT.

 

[pfoxgrover]

My 2 cents,
Always cut off the frag plug on new corals, and anything not living from a new coral should be covered in gel superglue.

 

[pfoxgrover]

Here is a picture of my rock seeding tank. A Rubbermaid structural foam tank. Wrapped in insulation and then furnature moving cellophane wrap. With a double-wall insulated top and lights.
I aquascape the Rock dry and then added it to the tank with some coralline algae, and some bacteria quite a while ago.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I don't have any scientific data to back my opinion. But I don't see how it could hurt as far as bacteria and calcareous algae go. Always the possibility of introducing some pest. After curing live rock for months, there still some fire worms in it. I think the rest of the pests were introduced via ceramic coral plugs, even when dipped before adding to the DT.

pests are the main reason I typically start with dry rock. Lately I'm wondering if maybe the benefits outweigh the risks.