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FAQs about "Base" Rock 2
Related Articles: Live Rock, Reef
Systems, Refugiums,
Related FAQs: Base Rock 1,
Live Rock 1, LR 2, LR
3, LR 4, LR 5,
Curing Live Rock, LR Life
Identification, Live Rock Selection,
Shipping/Moving, Placement,
Lighting, Water Quality,
Live Rock Studies in Fiji Collaboration &
Charts, Copper Use, Marine
Landscaping, Marine Biotope, Sumps,
Refugiums, Faux
Rock, Is there anything here to
nibble on?
Chaetodon speculum Cuvier 1831, the Mirror
or Oval-Spot Butterflyfish. | 
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Live Rock (How much vs. base
rock?) – 10/24/09
I am in the process of setting up a 75g FOWLR tank with no sump. I plan
to run a Rena Filstar XP2 canister filter on it and a H.O.B. skimmer.
<<Can be done>>
To save money, I'd like to use some base rock.
<<Okay>>
Could you advise me as to how much live rock I'll need,
<<Very difficult to do as this depends greatly on the type/quality of
rock as well as terminal stocking levels and even your
filtration/husbandry/maintenance practices. My advice is to buy enough
rock to provide adequate hiding/sleeping areas for the intended
livestock while not filling the tank up so much as to not allow swimming
and growing room for same. Perhaps start with 50-60 lbs of good quality
rock and work from there>>
and what proportion of it could be base rock?
<<I guess that depends on how long you are willing to let this tank sit
and mature? I’m thinking from your statements that this “base rock” is
actually “dry rock” (though there is such a thing as “live” base rock).
Going on that assumption, the higher the proportion of dry rock to live
rock, the longer the tank should sit and mature to give the seeded biota
(from the live rock) time to spread and establish sustainable colonies.
The more “show quality” live rock versus dead base rock (or even “live”
base rock) you can add to the tank the more biota and bio-diversity
available and indeed the better the overall outcome, in my opinion. But
“any” proportion is possible…go with whatever you can afford and then
proceed accordingly>>
Thanks,
JD
<<Happy to share… EricR>>
Live Rock/Re-seeding 10/2/09
Good Morning again crew.
<Good morning Matt>
My tank is ready to be filled up and start cycling this weekend but I
need some more live rock. I have about 40-50 lbs of base rock from an
earlier tank that has been scrubbed down and ready to use. I want to
seed this with new live rock. I have constructed some ledges and so
forth out of PVC and seems to be working well. The question I have is,
if I purchase about 20 lbs of live rock rubble, meaning just smaller
rocks, will this be able to seed my big pieces of base rock sufficiently
over time? I already have a lot of very big pieces that are going to be
used as base rock and cannot really fit more "big" pieces in the tank.
This is why I was going to try to mix in some live rubble to help seed
this larger rock. Just wondering what your thoughts on this were.
<Base rock will eventually be covered with coralline in short time, with
good water quality, parameters, and lighting. Other critters
spreading/growing will depend largely on the fauna present on the live
rock rubble. I would suggest getting a couple of 5-6" pieces of quality
live rock with various life forms present and would not add any fish
until the base rock develops, otherwise, introduced inhabitants are
likely to pick it
clean before re-seeding can develop.>
Thanks
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Matt
Reef Rock Question DIY Base Rock - Prep for SW use, Slight
misunderstanding re: 'cooking' the rock 10/1/2009
Hello WWM,
<Hi Kevin>
My name is Kevin. I am a long time reader and first time writer. I
really appreciate all the hard work you all do and love the site. I was
hoping you could help me answer a question I could not seem to find an
answer to.
<Will certainly try.>
I recently purchased some Florida field limestone from a local supplier.
I plan on adding this to my two mature reef tanks as base or sump rock.
I was doing some research about the preparations that are needed before
throwing this in the tank to seed and stumbled upon an article
recommending to "cook" the rock. My main interest in doing this is to
leach out the phosphates and any organic material present in the rock.
My research suggested that high phosphates could be a problem with this
type of rock for a while.
<It can.>
I prefer not to have to constantly use Phosban or other chemical means
to keep my system running smoothly. I was given this link with detailed
instructions on how to complete this process.
(http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?p=109759)
<After reading the linked article, it will not help with what you are
proposing. That method is used to kill off any algae and foster good
bacterial growth on the rock What you want to do is try to encourage the
phosphates to leech out before the rock goes into your tank.>
Since this is dry limestone with no SW bacteria cultures on it, can you
do a FW "cook" with tap water, RO water, or water with an acid (vinegar)
added and get the same "bacteria driven" environment to absorb the
organic material and phosphates?
<Yes, You can soak it in FW, and try to get some of the phosphates to
leech out of the rock on its own. As a result, you may get some FW
bacterial growth, and perhaps some FW algae that will consume it.>
I really would prefer to save time, effort, and money by not wasting
salt since the rock will be colonized with SW bacteria once it is added
to the main system at a later time. I could then soak the rock in a
diluted bleach bath to kill the FW bacteria, soak in a FW bath with
dechlorinator, and then let dry for a week or so before adding it to my
SW system. It seems to make sense to me but I could not find any
references to "cooking" in FW.
<What you propose certainly would work.>
Thanks again and I hope you can help me out.
<My pleasure, MikeV>
Re-seeding Base Rock/9/30/09
Hello crew,
<Hello Matt>
I have a pretty simple question for you today. I was at my LFS the other
night and mentioned to them that I wanted to purchase a couple pieces of
live rock to re-seed the base rock that I have to set up a new 55gal
reef tank. He told me to pitch all of the base rock and buy ALL new live
rock because it would take about 10 years for the re-seeding to actually
take effect. To me this seems like he just wants to sell me a whole new
batch of live rock. Please tell me that it will in no way take this long
for base rock to re-seed? Needless to say, I will be making my purchases
elsewhere from now on.
<Nonsense. If you have quality live rock to seed the base rock, within
three months the base rock should have a nice coralline growth at the
least.
Emerging critters will largely depend what is on the live rock purchased
for this purpose. I have constructed many arches, etc., from coral and
base rock rubble with PVC-U cement, and within a couple of months, the
rock looked great. Look out for this guy. One particular FAQ Scott
Fellman answered regarding this subject is posted below.
"Dead" Rock for a Reef? Good For You! 2/24/08
Hello Crew.
<Hey there! Scott F. on board today!>
I was just wondering if I can seed dead live rock from a few Good and
Live Rocks? I know a guy who is selling his dead live rock and I just
bought a new tank with Live Rock from my LFS.
Cheers
<Absolutely! Generally, inert or "dead" rock will "recruit" life forms
almost without exception. After a relatively short span of time, you'll
see many different animals start to colonize and reproduce on and within
the rock. In fact, one of our fine WWM supporters, Marco Rock, sells a
wonderful selection of such "dead" rock for just this purpose. Beautiful
aquariums can be developed using this material, with a little patience
on the part of the hobbyist. And, it's less expensive than "live" rock,
and has all of the benefits, without many of the typical shortcomings of
uncured live rock. It is not necessary to build your reef structure out
of entirely live material. Seed the inert rock with some live rock/sand
from a healthy, established aquarium, and/or purchase "kits" of
beneficial animals from sources like Indo Pacific Sea Farms or other
e-tailers. Coralline and other algae, not to mention many different
invertebrates, will gradually colonize the rock, resulting in a
beautiful and healthy reef. IN fact, one of the advantages of using this
inert rock is that, once given a pretty good cleaning, you're virtually
assured of starting with rock free of pests and nuisance algae. If you
elect to go this route, I say, "good for you!"
The results of patience and letting nature run its unhurried course can
never be downplayed. Best of luck to you! Regards, Scott F.>
Thanks for your help on this
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Matt
Live Rock/Cleaning 0/24/09
Hello All,
<Hi Matt>
I have not had a question for a while because I have been trying to
salvage my tank of all the aiptasia and green bubble algae.
<Yikes.>
I am not even going to waste your time with system parameters because
they are obviously awful and I am going tear down the tank and start
over anyway. I do currently have a tank that I will transfer my two
clowns to however. Now to my question.....I have literally hundreds of
aiptasia and bubbles all over my live rock. I was pretty much thinking
about killing off my live rock and starting over with it as base rock,
and then purchasing more live rock to seed it with while I cycle through
my new tank. I have read a lot about base rock and reseeding the rock,
but not much on what the best way to basically kill off the rock is.
Could you please shed some light on this for me? What is the best way
for me to kill off my rock and start over with it?
<Soaking the rock in a freshwater tub for a few days should kill most if
not all marine life forms on the rock. A good scrubbing and rinsing
under freshwater should finish the job. Some folks have recommended
adding
chlorine bleach to the soak cycle, about 8 ounces of bleach per 50
gallons of water. This will ensure a sure kill, and may be the better
way to go.
With this procedure, the rock will need to have several fresh water
rinses to eliminate any residual chlorine present on the rock. In your
case, I'd likely go with the chlorine bleach method.>
Thanks so much for your help as always
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Matt
Re Live Rock/Cleaning 9/24/09
<Hello Matt>
Wow, Thanks for the super quick response.
<You're welcome.>
Once I get this cycled again I really want to get an eel. I was thinking
either the snowflake or zebra. Like I said, this is a 55 gal 4ft long. I
only have the two common clowns right now. Would either of these be
possible in the tank with nothing else to ever be added aside from the
two clowns, and if so, which one would be the better choice?
<I suggest you read here and linked files above.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/morays.htm>
Thanks again for all your hard work and help.
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Matt
Cleaning Live Rock 9/18/09
<Hi Keith>
I have about 30 pounds of live rock that has been sitting on my deck for
about a year.
<Not "live" anymore for sure.>
I washed them with the hose, and now I have them outside in a container
with an old powerful return power head that use to be in my sump. I am
going to let it run overnight with the Clorox I put in there. ( I poured
a few cups in and there is about 4 gallons in the container.
<Yikes, didn't need that much.>
Tomorrow at some point, I am again going to pressure wash them with my
hose and then put them back in the container and let them run with some
new clean water.
After that, I was thinking of baking them or boiling them to make sure
they are sterile.
<They will be sterile after that Clorox bath.>
Should this be enough to do before I add them as base rock in my already
established tank?
<Keep the rock in the freshwater (circulated) container until no trace
of the Clorox
can be detected. Smelling the rock with your sniffer will detect this.>
Thanks!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Keith
aquascaping 09/14/09
I attached base rock to 12 inch by 12 inch sheets of acrylic with
silicone in my 150 reef to add stability. I attached live rock with
posts to the base rock. Have I created conditions that will allow for
anaerobic pockets under the 12 by 12"s and glass tank bottom. Plan to
add less than inch of sand once live rock cures.
be well
mike
<I think you'll be fine here Mike. Some anaerobic area/s are beneficial
in captive aquatic systems... as long as a "good deal" of material
doesn't accumulate in them and release too much in the way of products
of decomposition sans oxygen, all should be okay. Bob Fenner>
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Coral Skeletons/Cutting 9/11/09
Hello,
<Hi Mike>
Any advice on how I can cut this piece of coral longitudinally? Or
whether I even should? Is it okay to use
old coral skeletons, provided they do not contain any harmful substances
as reef base rock?
<Sure.>
This piece was found on a sandy beach. I would like to use it to build 2
shelf's in a reef system? Its about 4 inches thick. Sorry I don't have a
side view. Any feedback is appreciated.
<Well Mike, most folks I know, use wet tile/brick saws to do this.>
<<Have seen band saws used as well... not all types of blades though.
Oh, and the rust spots/marks are not a problem. Not enough ferrous
material to cause trouble here. RMF>>
Be well,
<And you also. James (Salty Dog)>
mike
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dead rock or live rock?
Base Rock – 08/26/09
Hello, I am currently in the process of setting up a new saltwater tank.
I was given about 150lbs of rock that has been sitting in a trash can in
a garage for about a year. I was told that the water has not been
circulated
for about 10 months. The rock is pretty much pure white with maybe a
couple of pink spots here and there. Do you think this would still be
okay to use?
<If you do, make sure you mix it with live rock, and realize that it
will need to be "cured". It is likely all dead and so the live rock will
seed it with some beneficial organisms.>
Or would I be better off buying all new live rock?
<If money is no object I suggest live rock, otherwise a mix would be
appropriate, just allow for curing and a cycle to take place.>
I appreciate any advice you can give me :)
Thanks so much!
Jen
<You're welcome
Josh Solomon.>
Dried out base rock 8/5/09
<Hi Chris<
Ok, so I went out and picked up this rock
Apparently it had been out of the water for a day or 2 and had a really
bad smell (stuff dying off of course). I was also told that there were a
fair amount of Mantis Shrimp in the rock (yea..) I brought the rock
home, put it in an empty tank, filled it with saltwater and put a couple
of power heads to circulate the water. My thinking behind this is that
there may be some life still on the rock that I can salvage. Do you
think that this is a possibility for anything else but the shrimp?
<If it has been out of the water for a day or two, is infested with
mantis shrimp, and already stinks, I'd personally let it bake out in the
sun and kill everything off after you pressure wash it. the algae will
die off, but you do want to remove as much as you can before it goes in
your tank. I would pressure wash it, let it dry in the sun for 4-5 days,
then I would set up a bin with a powerhead and salt water to begin
curing it again. You can get a rock from the store or a friends tank to
put in there as well to help seed "good" life back into the rocks.
Will the algae go away if I leave it in an unlighted tank...
<bake it as suggested above, mostly to remove pest algae and any
unwanted mantis shrimp>
Should I be doing anything else?
Please keep in mind that I'll probably keep it for a few months in this
manner as I just don't have the time to set up the display tank.
Let me know
Thanks
Chris
<Regards, Jessy>
Dry Base Rock 4/25/09
Hello WWM crew, Aaron again.
<Hello Aaron, my many apologies for the extremely tardy response.>
I was wondering about this base rock from (I believe one of your
sites) Marcorocks.com
<A sponsor.><<Mmmm, not yet. RMF>>
and I was wondering if when I get the rock can I just put it in my
tank and use the live rock in there already to cure the base rock or
do I have to go and buy the stuff to fully cure it in a separate
tank and go out and buy more fully cured live rock just to cure or
can I fully cure it in my main tank?
<This rock has no living material and should already be scrubbed
clean or done so by yourself if is has dead dried matter on it
before placement. In the end this rock will not need to be cured,
just cultured off of real living live rock.>
I just fully cycled my tank and bought live rock yesterday so what?
I only bought 3 pounds of live rock so I was hoping that I can use
the 25 pound of base rock form the site to cure it at its own steady
pace.
<Hmm, yes, just add all of this together and give it some time, a
period of a few weeks to establish biofiltration and for the LR to
cure.>
Thanks, Aaron.
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Texas Holey Rock - OK for Marine Tanks?
3/12/2009
Hi,
<Hi there.>
I have a 90g marine aquarium with fish and corals. I want to
re-aquascape the tank and was thinking of using some "Texas Holey Rock".
The tank has been set up for about a year and about half of the rock in
the tank was moved from a 30g that was up for about 2 years. The other
half is lace rock. Is the "Holey Rock" OK for a marine tank? How long
should I cure it or cook it before introducing it to my tank?
<It is a limestone and has been used for FW Cichlids for some time. I
would rinse the rock completely in fresh water, and then soak it in salt
water for a few days to a week before putting it in the tank. As the
rock is porous, I would not use bleach.>
Thanks,
<My pleasure>
David
<Mike>
cloudy saltwater tank, base rock use 2/2/09
thanks for reading my e-mail. I have a custom made 86 gallon tank its
5'8 long 18 tall and 18 deep. I started out with a 50g tall that i never
had this problem with, it all started out when i transferred tanks. I
used all the sand, 30 pounds of live rock, about 100 pounds of
limestone,
<Mmm... "base rock"... this can be problematical... take
a while to stop "flaking">
filter, skimmer and sump with about 15
pounds of live rock from the 50 gallon. Since the swap the water has
never been clear, its not green just hazy. The fish don't seem stressed
at all,. the new tank has been set up for approx . 3 months now,
<Yikes!>
and seems to get cloudier every water change. last week I
decided to test for Alk . and calcium for the first time. The Alk was at
16 and calcium was at 440 my ph has always been 8.2-8.4 . I had been
using tap water. I tested the tap water and Alk was at 11. So naturally
i went strait out and bought an RO /DI filter and started doing water
changes to lower the Alk .
<Mmm, "it's" not the tap>
I did several
30 gallon water changes adding the water very slowly over several hours.
The Alk is now down to 9 and the calcium is still at 440 i am using
Coralife salt. I am going to do some research on diff salts and their
different readings. The last water change was done 24 hrs ago and it
looked like it was going to clear up but now its cloudy again .
custom made 86 gallon tank
45 pounds live rock
100 pounds of
limestone
20 gallon sump
has filter sock on sump inlet
<Good>
maxi-jet 1800 return pump
CPR backpack skimmer
2 Hydor
#1's
2 eco modded maxi-jet 1200's
Eheim eco filter for carbon
and filter pads
for now 6 NO florescent
2 6500
1 18000
1
10000
2 actinic blue
specific gravity 1.024
temp 78 deg
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 0ppm
ph 8.2
alkalinity
10 dKH
calcium 440 ppm
phosphate .25 ppm
fish
2 tank
raised clowns
5 chromis
1 coral beauty
1 black Combtooth
blenny
1 dragon goby
<Neat>
1 cleaner shrimp
varies
snails and hermit crabs
no coral yet....
I have looked all over
WetWeb and found a lot of info on calcium snowstorms. I thought that's
what this was but since lowering the Alk there has been no change. I
know that the dragon goby could be causing some of this but i don't see
anything that looks like sand particles in the water.
thanks for
your time.
i know the super bowl is about to come on so i don't
expect any replies soon.. lol
thanks
Kent
<Heeee! Was out
walking the dogs during... surprisingly uncrowded. Well, my best guess
is on/with the CaCO3 rock... not your source water, the salt mix, or
anything else... Cures? Time going by... maybe sped up with the
addition of a refugium... with macroalgae there, RDP lighting... a
DSB... to aid in biological processes that will ultimately "settle",
precipitate a good deal of this floating floc... Please read here re:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marsetupindex2.htm
the second tray down...
Alternatively, you could invest in a mechanical filter with something
like Diatom filter/size/type capacity... and sieve out the particles...
while waiting for other processes to catch up. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Limestone rubble for live rock (base) 12/19/08
G'day WWM crew,
This may seem an odd question, but I was wondering if
there is any reason why I can't use limestone from my backyard in my
aquarium that already has live rock in it.
<Mmm, can be done... if
pretty much pure CaCO3...>
I will soon be requiring a lot of live
rock for my new 1500l reef tank and was hoping I might be able to use
limestone which I have dug up (I have tons, literally!) as base rock to
save on costs. Should I be worried about soil etc embedded in the
limestone?
<Mmm, not so much if you do reasonable garden/hose pipe
spraying to clean>
Should I soak it in freshwater first?
<A good
idea... perhaps there are some more-soluble parts that will be dissolved
off in this process, maybe some more of the dirt in question above>
Some pieces are yellow on the inside which I think means it contains
iron also.
<Mmm, maybe... I'd test with a magnet... should be rust
colored if ferrous... best to chip away most all of this>
Any advice,
recommendations would be greatly welcome.
Thanks, Ben
<Do smell a
bit of the chipped off yellow part... might be sulfur... this is not so
toxic to marines, but I would try to remove a good bit of it too.
Bob
Fenner>
CORAL BASE ROCK - ETC – 07/11/08
Dear Bob,
<Marty>
Just
back from the San Antonio COA (Conchologists of America Convention) and
see your friends possible need of a quantity of coral base rock. We have
some stock here – but are low. A container just left yesterday with 2000
kg of coral rock – so suggest it best to wait for this to arrive (around
mid August). Just let us know – or have your friend contact us.
<Was
an open query on WWM. Did you write them directly? I hope so>
Re
Charlie Vernon’s newest work A REEF IN TIME and ocean acidification –
earlier this week there was a short blurb on exactly that – it was on
either channels 2 or 4 late news. At least it’s starting to become
recognized as a real and immediate problem that needs addressing ASAP!
<Ah yes... the carbonate sink... again... but now, we happen to be here
while it's happening... Well, we did our bit... didn't reproduce>
All
for now –
Regards, Marty
Marty Beals
Tideline
<BobF>
Refugium Technical Help / Copper Removal from Rock Please
7/11/08
Hello Bob and the great Crew at WWM-I'd like to start off by
thanking you for the valuable knowledge you have shared with the
reef aquarium community and the helping me create an amazing
ecosystem (my super sized Rose Tip BTA just split into two to much
amusement to my gold-striped mated pair maroon clowns who have
spawned since).
<Gorgeous!>
I have been battling hair algae
in my reef tank for over a year now since adding some live rock
about a year ago (55 gallon, t-5 lighting, Eheim filter, red sea
protein skimmer). Its a mature tank 3 yrs+ and I dare say is
overstocked (see attached pics I have higher resolution too but I
wasn't sure if they'd go through email).
<They're here>
My
nitrates, phosphates are at continuously at zero (im sure their
higher just not picking them up in the tests).
<Mmm, no... much
more likely these are being "scarfed up" by your photosynthetic,
chemotrophic life/processes here>
I try to perform bi-monthly
water changes at 10%. I tried reduced lighting from 12 hours to 8
hours six months ago but then my BTA and corals don't seem as full
or bright so I returned to 12 hour lighting and the hair algae has
been growing. So I have finally purchased a sump which I am
converting to a Refugium and have some technical questions which I
could not find the answers to in the library: 1) I scored about 40
lbs of gorgeous Marshall Island dead rock from a former reefer who
had used a large amount of copper in his main FOWLR tank. The rock
looks okay from afar, but on close inspection there is a slight
green tint of copper on all the rocks.
<!?>
I tried boiling it
but the tint is still there. What can I do to remove all copper from
this rock before I cure it into Live Rock?
<Perhaps melt a good
deal off with dilute (inorganic likely) acid... I'd try Muriatic (3
molar HCl)... diluted by at least five times... do take care to do
this with eye protection, doing as you "outta, adding acid to
water"... outdoors where there is good air circulation>
(the
least expensive method would be most suitable for me) 2) Should I
place rocks that are heavily infested with Hair Algae in the
refugium or keep them in the main tank?
<In the refugium>
Or
will the Hair Algae go away in due time if I leave it in the main
tank and add the refugium?
<More likely in the 'fuge...>
3)
Should I place Rock or Macro Algae in the first chamber where the
water comes into the refugium from the overflow?
<Yes>
(I will
also have an ideal mud bed with live rock and macro algae in the
main refugium chamber area but I want to maximize all chambers).
Thank you so much for your help. It is greatly appreciated. F.
Alserri
<Welcome. You might peruse this area:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marsetupindex2.htm
the second tray down;
when you want a bit more re refugiums.
Bob Fenner> |  
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Re: No question just thanks... Follow on... Chalk as base rock –
05/27/08
Hi crew
<Hello Garry.>
Sorry just sent an Email
to Bob and somebody has just asked me a question which I have no answer
for, and I wondered if you guys could come up with an answer.
<Sure.>
Local to where I live we have cliffs of Chalk rock (just like
the White Cliffs of Dover)
<Nice, I’m a geologist.>
being that
they are 99.97 to 99.99% pure very soft (for rock anyway) Calcium
Carbonate, would it be possible to use this as a base rock for a Reef
aquarium.
<I would not do that. These rocks (if comparable to Dover)
consist of the skeletons of green algae and to a minor extent of
foraminifera, ostracods and some molluscs. Whenever sedimentation
stopped due to various reasons the sediment layers were in part
encrusted with phosphate minerals (the natural way of removing
phosphates from the water), which while being pretty much dissoluble in
water can easily be dissolved with the help of the life in a reef tank.
Phosphates inhibit the growth of the corals’ skeletal elements,
obviously stony corals are more sensitive. Even if phosphate composes
only 0.01-0.03% of the rock (while possible, these numbers seem low to
me) and 10 kg (about 20 pounds) are used you’ll have a phosphate
reservoir of a little less than 1-3 grams. Depending on the specific
solution kinetics in your tank this may inhibit stony coral growth. This
problem occurs with a lot of calcareous rocks used as base rock.>
From watching the effects of the local sea water on the rock pools there
is always a degree of erosion and solubility (the water has a slightly
milky look) and if this was filtered out would the effect of this rock
be beneficial upon pH, calcium content etc. I have done some research
into this type of limestone and it is very porous with millions of
channels holes etc all the way through it so from the point of view of
bacterial "infestation" it seems an ideal base rock, especially as it
can be obtained in a very clean non polluted form Anyway your thoughts
etc would be appreciated. Garry (in the UK).
<In my opinion and
experience no rock compares to the real thing re denitrification: live
rock. Maybe if put into natural tropical water other porous rocks like
the ones you consider might develop similar characteristics, but it will
take months at least and is rather unlikely to happen in an aquarium to
the same extent it can happen in nature. If you still wish to use the
chalk be prepared to also use some phosphate adsorbing media in the
future. Cheers, Marco.>
Re: No question just thanks... Follow on 5/27/2008
Hi Marco
<Hello Garry.>
Thank you for your reply (it's nice to
meet another ologist - I'm an Ecologist ). Your reply makes sense to me,
however, the percentages of Calcium Carbonate are correct (please read
Ecology of the English Chalk by C.J.Smith pub: Academic Press Inc.
(American publication) pages 1-17). According to this book and several
others the composition of English Chalk is Calcium Carbonate 97.89%
<I can agree with that. The last mail spoke of 99.97-99.99, which makes
a difference with regard to phosphates.>
Magnesium Carbonate 0.75%
Silica 0,65% Calcium Phosphate 0.22%
<My original calculation was
for only 0.01-0.03%. So with this more exact number 10 kg (about 20
pounds) of chalk will introduce a little less than 20 g of phosphates
into the system! A concentration of only 0.3 mg/litre, which can easily
be reached with this rock and a little time, can seriously inhibit stony
coral growth.>
Iron oxides 0.14% Water (combined) 0.35% Work done by
Dr N.Walsh (sorry not sure when or where published) showed English
Chalks to have a purity of between 96.77% and 99.09%. But hey I'm
getting pedantic here.
<You are not being pedantic at all, these
numbers are very useful and as you see one digit here and there makes
quite a difference. It’s ten times the amount of Phosphates, that’s not
pedantic.>
I agree that the only real rock suitable for Reef aquaria
use is or should be Live Rock but we pay a lot for a very little here in
the UK (try fuel at over $12 a gallon) and I guess we have to try and
spread our costs whilst still providing the absolute best conditions for
whatever we keep in those little (or not so little) glass or acrylic
boxes in our homes.
<I totally agree with you here (I’m in Germany
and our gasoline and live rock prices are practically the same as in
Britain. I used various types of rock as base rock, too, but often ended
with serious phosphate problems when growing stony corals and sensitive
soft corals. Those problems had to be addressed with phosphate adsorbing
media and water changes, which also cost some money and should to be
considered. For fish only tanks it does not matter too much, just less
denitrification. For coral tanks I often use "second hand live rock"
from well running systems with low phosphate concentrations as a cheap
alternative when some hobbyist is giving up due to whatever reason, it
typically costs about 1/5 - 1/3 of the commercially sold rock and often
has already some soft coral growth.>
Your comments have been noted
and I will pass them on. Cheers Garry.
<Happy reefing! Marco.>
Re: No question just thanks... Follow on... Chalk as base rock III –
05/27/08
Hi Marco
<Hello Garry.>
Well, that will annoy my friend who thought he had a
cheaper alternative to second hand base rock (he has a garden full of it
with a small cliff (the garden was part of an old quarry) I will pass
your comments on and await the results of his deliberations, no doubt he
will go the live rock route but I think he is aggrieved at the cost.
Personally I would pay whatever I had to get the results I would want
but this is an expensive hobby (lifestyle?!) and for some the price can
be just too much.
<I totally agree with the above.>
Can I say
that if you are German by birth, your English is very very good,
<Thank you very much, I’m trying.>
and I appreciate your time and
energies confirming what I knew but could not convince my friend of.
Happy Reefing to you Garry.
<Cheers, Marco.> |
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