Live rock?

overcooked

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2008
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LA
It's necessary but you can use a combination of live rock and dry base rock. The live rock will seed the base rock in time and become live.
 

ShadowBass

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2007
2,322
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Poplar Bluff, MO
No it's not needed at all. You can cycle a normal filter just like on a freshwater aquarium. The down side is that you will have to do more water changes to keep the nitrates down, unlike with live rock which will help stablize or eliminate nitrates.
 

cichlidgirl

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 7, 2008
718
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upstate ny
Great info. What do you mean by dry base rock ? I have large amounts of great rockwork from my cichlid tanks, mostly 1 to 2 foot limestone and granite types (I have a 7 foot tank LOL), Could i use that ? How long should I soak it in salt water if i can use it before putting in my salt tank?
 

ShadowBass

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2007
2,322
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Poplar Bluff, MO
cichlidgirl;4359253; said:
Great info. What do you mean by dry base rock ? I have large amounts of great rockwork from my cichlid tanks, mostly 1 to 2 foot limestone and granite types (I have a 7 foot tank LOL), Could i use that ? How long should I soak it in salt water if i can use it before putting in my salt tank?
Limestone and granite aren't porous enough. It has to be lacerock or something.
 

cichlidgirl

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 7, 2008
718
2
0
upstate ny
Ok thanks. Always open to ways to save $$.
 

overcooked

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2008
101
0
0
LA
ShadowBass;4358957; said:
No it's not needed at all. You can cycle a normal filter just like on a freshwater aquarium. The down side is that you will have to do more water changes to keep the nitrates down, unlike with live rock which will help stablize or eliminate nitrates.
Live rock will not eliminate nitrates. The nitrogen cycles stops there.
 

carsona246

Gambusia
MFK Member
Feb 12, 2009
553
2
18
Arkansas
Ok I dont mean to jack this thread, but i've been reading a lot of info and I can't seem to find the answers. I know this is a seriously noob question about saltwater tanks but I've just started reading. Whenever I read about live rock it's usually talked about as a primary source of biological filtration. Why would live rock be more beneficial than a really effective biological filtration system like a sump? I know saltwater fish are more sensitive to nitrates but they're not really ever a problem in a freshwater as long as you do water changes. So why exactly is it so essential if you had a sump or another form of filtration that converted ammonia to nitrite to nitrate?
 

TheCanuck

Piranha
MFK Member
Nov 9, 2009
3,056
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DALLAS TEXAS
carsona246;4362764; said:
Ok I dont mean to jack this thread, but i've been reading a lot of info and I can't seem to find the answers. I know this is a seriously noob question about saltwater tanks but I've just started reading. Whenever I read about live rock it's usually talked about as a primary source of biological filtration. Why would live rock be more beneficial than a really effective biological filtration system like a sump? I know saltwater fish are more sensitive to nitrates but they're not really ever a problem in a freshwater as long as you do water changes. So why exactly is it so essential if you had a sump or another form of filtration that converted ammonia to nitrite to nitrate?
many things beat live rock as far as bio filtration.
 
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