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As with larger marine volumes, the benefits
of using live rock, and its principal “live” component, sponge material,
cannot be overstated. Nothing provides stability, counters to chemical
and physical condition drift, ready foods, competitors and predators for
noisome algae and endless generation of interest as live rock and its
bio-agents.
This being stated and understood, there are caveats to be delineated re
the how, what, and how much live rock is prudent to use. As you know or
will, smaller systems are FAR less forgiving than bigger volumes, and
live rock will only go a bit further in helping you avoid catastrophe
should something dire go wrong. Live Rock Basics:
First off, let’s assume that everyone reading here is not presently “in
the life”; i.e. there may be some folks that their plans for a small
marine system are the first aquarium period that they’ve had. Some brief
definitions and explanations are desirable therefore. Live rock is a
combination of non-living matrix (the rock itself mainly comprised of
calcium carbonate, aka limestone) and a great deal of life living on and
in holes/crevices/interstices in it. This wild-collected (and
wild-cultured/inoculated) product is of great use to aquarists as it
readily starts and maintains balance and stability in our small “slices
of the sea”.
Raw rock from the wild is usually problematical w/o commercial
processing and “curing” and more. Almost always there is too much life
and a good deal of it either dead or too easily so w/o removing it
physically ahead of shipping. Good LR collectors/distributors use hand
tools and high pressure water nozzles to “knock off” most extraneous
material of this nature.
Beyond the collector/distributor’s roles, wholesalers, retailer and
etailers may provide a further clean-up, even partial to (stated)
complete curing. Do NOT however trust anyone other than yourself to
assure that your rock is ready to roll! My very best advice (i.e., what
I would do) is to use some for-sure “cured” LR from your own larger
system if at all possible. Alternatively, unlike larger systems where
one can more easily “cure in place” a good deal of raw material, you’re
encouraged to utilize a large, chemically inert plastic (trash) can,
tote or tub to do your own curing. There are a few popular methods,
using light or not, measuring and changing water out depending on
declining water quality, but a period of a few to several weeks may go
by to allow for die-off and re-centering/establishment of remaining
species, populations on and in your rock. ONLY then is it safe to
place in your small marine system. AND even then you should wait a good
week before adding any more purposeful livestock. Sources of LR: Abound… they’re mainly
collected in S. Pacific islands (Fiji, Vanuatu…) and cultured in
Florida, but there are new businesses coming and going that supply LR.
Best to check w/ the hobby bb’s on the Net re what is available. I like
the S. Pacific sources for their low density and abundance/diversity of
life, but would gladly default to a more regional product if I were
putting up a biotopic presentation of life from that area. Amounts & Placement of LR: Just like some
dishwashing soap ads, you only need a little LR to go a long way… A few
pounds/kilos will probably get you about all to be had functionally,
though the issue of looks might call for a bit more. In the current
trend, I am definitely not a fan of the stacked wall look so reminiscent
of larger systems these years back… a piling or such in one corner/ side
or the other, perhaps with a cave, link to a piece or two more toward
the center… is more to my liking for small systems. I do want to remind
all of the importance of placing bottom pieces of rock directly on the
bottom, i.e. not on sand where they might later topple disastrously. About LR “Maintenance”/Renewal: It should be
mentioned that after a year or so, some part (a few tens of percent) of
your live rock should be replaced, or added to. This process will
re-inoculate the system with desirable micro and macro life and make
available more soluble parts of the inorganic matrix. About Sponges, the Porifera:
The simplest form of life; not even tissue-grade, are the Poriferans,
the lowly sponges… They’ve been about before the Cambrian and will very
likely be here if/when we’re gone… And this is for good rThese simple
animals are competitive, resistant and highly adaptive to a wide range
of marine (there are a few freshwater species) conditions. They have an
overall winning game plan… for sieving food items out of the water
column, holding onto turf (though some few are mobile!) against all
comers, overgrowing others… and being able to “hunker down”, even
shrinking in size, under inopportune conditions. Given that they’re of
varieties that aren’t (too) toxic, nor converging/fighting w/ other
benthic, immobile invertebrates you’d like to keep, having live sponges
can be very beneficial… as filters, producers of microscopic (gametic)
food, and bioassay organisms for letting you know if/when something is
askew. Species Selection Criteria:
The best sponges to get are the ones that will “arrive” on and with the
live rock you purchase. Think about this; by proliferating under your
given conditions… water quality, current and lighting, these sponges
will have proven their hardiness and adaptability. Alternatively, buying
specimens and trying them out can be hit or miss. An intermediate
position in acquiring likely-to-survive colonies is to purchase these as
parts of new/added live rock from vendors or fellow hobbyists.
An important item to mention in dealing with sponges is to not lift them
into the air. Too often this air gets trapped inside the colonies open
spaces, causing death and decomposition to those areas. When moving live
sponges, place them and the rock they’re stuck to, in a container
underwater, moving them submersed.
Size matters and not just size matters: As mentioned, though sponges are
for the most part immobile, they can strongly compete with other
sedentary life by chemically fighting and overgrowing contiguous life
forms. Again, it’s best to encourage the sponges that come along and
survive on one’s own live rock, or buy some that are locally grown.
Should you decide to purchase a sponge outright DO isolate and culture
it for a while in a larger system. For one, this is to see if it’s going
to survive, and secondly to judge its likely toxic Feeding:
Sponges are filter feeders extraordinaire… with some being more
generalized feeders and others sifting a narrower range of algae, small
crustaceans, larval forms of many groups, detritus and more for their
energy and growth needs. My best advice to nutrify yours is to rely
mostly on what is being produced in your system, and encourage more of
this by having a healthy Deep Sand Bed, rotating in some new, fresh Live
Rock on a regular basis (every few months), and if at all practical,
adding a live sump (refugium) with an alternating light/dark cycle of
lighting (RDP) with your main/display regimen. Adding
cultures of food organisms is a gamble in small volumes… and one that I
myself do not endorse for hobbyists employment. IF you go this route, DO
use a timer to shut off your skimmer and/or Ultraviolet Sterilizer (if
in use) for an hour or two to give the added food/s time to be
assimilated live. Cloze: I do strongly
advocate the use of at least some live rock in all marine systems of all
types, even ones of only a few gallons volume. There is no other
addition to a saltwater tank that can do so much, and that on
auto-pilot, to provide livable circumstances. Small systems require a
bit more care in applying LR; making sure such natural product is not
going to cause a re-cycling event, or worse a melt-down of sorts from
too much die-off of the LR biota.
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