Mixing Live Rock With Base Rock

[severn]

hi

im think about moving over into marines in the near future.

with an eye on costs ,i was just wondering is it possible to mix live rock and base rock ?
after a time will the base rock become live rock completely ?
or will it be less efficient ?
how long would it take aprrox for the base rock to become live rock ?
are there any supplements that can be used to speed up this process ?
will it look the same as live rock ?

it would be great to hear from anyone who has done this for real
thanks
Jon

 

[STD]

hi

im think about moving over into marines in the near future.

with an eye on costs ,i was just wondering is it possible to mix live rock and base rock ?
after a time will the base rock become live rock completely ?
or will it be less efficient ?
how long would it take aprrox for the base rock to become live rock ?
are there any supplements that can be used to speed up this process ?
will it look the same as live rock ?

it would be great to hear from anyone who has done this for real
thanks
Jon

If you use Reef bones which is essentialy dried live rock then yes it works

If by base rock you mean ocean rock then no it doesnt

 

[littleme1969]

Yes It depends on many things. I used a mixture of reef bones and ocean rock as the base for my 100g marine. I used 45kg in all. But the thing you have to keep in mind is making sure you have enough of the live rock to add as filtration. I also used 40kg of live rock. 20g from an establised tank and 20kg new which was use to cycle the tank.
My tank is very stable and the base rock has already started to blend well in colour. Ocean rock is not prorus enough to become good live rock and it has little filtration value. But reef bones are more porous and in time (anything from 6 -18months) will become usefull live rock.
So yes it can be done but you have to be carefull to keep a good balance. Making sure you also have other forms of filtration in place, such as external/internal filters and skimmers is an essential way of supporting the filtration .