don't be mad. (define live rock please)

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-Asianguy-

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2006
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Honolulu
i'm sorry. but i really don't know this. and i need to learn. what exactly is "live rock" ?

i was thinking it was rocks like coral. rocks that accually grow.

but after reading some post it looks to be something that filters. or has algae on it.

please explain.
 
it is rock that is impregnated, populated , by living organisms, millions of them, some bigger, some smaller, some you'll only notice after months of the rock being in the aquarium. and most of those organisms filter the water. There are guys who do their whole sw filtering based on live rock and sand and then some w. changes.

it is so fantastic that if you put a normal piece of sea rock ( of course it needs to be porous ) near a live rock, in one year, say, both will be "live" rocks...
 
Yeah, live rock refers to the living organisms that are currently on the rock... they can be microscopic (ie the anerobic bacteria) to the larger ones commonly refered to as hitch-hickers (ie crabs,feather dusters, shrimp and if your lucky, corals)

most live rock sold has been cycle which reduces the amount of ammonia cause by the die off or organisms which died during shipping (micro or macro).
so they tend to look like wet rocks with some calcarouse algae growing on it...but the main point in using live rock is to have a host of bacteria to process the waste.

if your looking to get rocks that are abundant in the larger organisms, that requires direct harvesting off the reef. so your best be is to buy direct from a wholesaler (or order it), that way the live rock wont go through a 3rd party who will cycle the rock, but doing so comes with a bad smell for about 2 weeks and minimal macro growth

and like stated above, any rock can become live if left in the ocean to bloom, and the more porus the better (=more surface area = more bacteria)


(sorry if i repeaded anything)
 
nope. You just completed the info.

Let me ad that once I got a baby moray eel inside a rock......
 
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