LIVEROCK question ?

Question

what is liverock (for a saltwater aquarium) and does coral grow on it ? and do you need it for saltwater tank? what does it do?

Answer 1

Live rock are pieces of coral, limestone or coral rock from outside the reef that have broken off and fallen to the bottom that then becomes covered with encrusting organisms, such as coraline algae, soft corals, zoanthids and sponges. The purpose of live rocks in a reef tank is to provide biological nitrification base or biological filter of a saltwater aquarium, while at the same time enhances the look of the aquarium and provides shelter for the inhabitants. Also, live rocks have a stablizing effect on the water chemistry, in particular on helping to maintain constant pH by release of calcium.

Live rocks are use mostly on Berlin set-ups and most reef tank that don't put subtrates. Most reef hobbyist doesn't use sand in the bottom of their tank. In addition, live rocks are very good dinitrifying agents (when properly used). Also don't forget to use a good protein skimmer trogether with the live rocks. As a general rule, add approximately 1-1/2 pounds of rock per gallon of water in your aquarium.

But before you place live rocks in your tank you have to be very careful.
The rocks should be well cured (Cured means that it is live rock that has already been conditioned and is stable to use right away in an aquarium with minimal concern under certain guidelines. ). See to it that the rocks don't smell like rotten eggs and be careful on unwanted hitchhikers like some crabs and the dreaded mantis shrimp. Use a good power head in the tank to provide the necessary current and strong water circulation in the rocks to prevent dead spots.

Answer 2

Live rock is a piece of coral or concrete (and now even resin) which has been sitting in the ocean for at least 18 months. During this time, it gets algae, corals, bivalves (clam-like), sponges, etc. growing on it. Other animals (small shrimp, crabs, urchins, snails, sea stars [starfish], and marine worms) may live on or in them. Don't plan on seeing a lot when you first get it, because everything is tiny - it needs time to grow. What you get depends on where the rock is from.

Live rock is not absolutely necessary for a fish-only aquarium, but you should have it for a reef tank.

The most important organism on live rock is bacteria. Live rock acts as a living "filter" (but you still need the regular kind, too). The bacteria break down ammonia in the water which is toxic to the fish and other animals. The sponges, feather worms, snails, and shrimp all eat food that your fish miss or is too small for them. They eat the excess food and multiply and many of these animals, in turn, become "extra" food for your fish.

See the link below for more info. http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm

I like to use live rock in my tanks. I'm amazed everytime I start a new tank with live rock and see how many new things I can find in the tank that came from what looked like a few chunks of wet rocks.

Answer 3

A piece of live rock is rock that has beneficial bacteria growing on it which is extremely important for balancing the water chemistry. Along with live sand (which is essentially sand that has similar bacteria living on its surfaces), the bacteria in live rock processes ammonia and nitrites, both poisonous to fish and corals, and turns them into nitrates, which are less harmful. Since live rock is very porous, the total surface area in which bacteria can grow on is hundreds of times more than the physical volume of the rock, which makes it a very effective medium.

Because it's just a medium for bacteria to live on, you can technically find a very very porous piece of plastic and eventually bacterial film will develop on all the surfaces. But obviously live ocean rocks are readily available and much more beautiful so most people go that route =)

In terms of corals, they simply attach themselves to the rocks - or any surface really. Corals don't necessarily need live rock to survive, it just looks nice. Again, the only reason you have live rock and live sand is for the bacteria colonies.

Conversely, you can get dried ocean rock and dried sand, put them into your tank, wait about a month or two, and they too will become "live".

Check out http://www.fishstart.com, it's a good place for starters.