base rock for marine aquaria?

Question

Does anyone have a link to a site where good quality reasonably priced base rock is available and how long will seed live rock take to "liven" added base rock?

Answer 1

This is something you should be able to get through any local pet store - and buying it locally will allow you to choose size, shape, and coloration much better and save you the cost of shipping. You should find this either around other rock (slate, "Utah Ice", Pagoda stone, etc.) or in a saltwater supplies section. There are a couple of different kinds, and these go by different names, such as lace rock, travertine, reef bones, reef rock, etc. Try to get ones with the maximum porosity. Some types to look for: reef rock: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/203892/product.web , lace rock is carbonate rock that's been exposed above sea level for some time and often has lichens growing on it (that should be scraped off!). It also typically has lots of holes and depressions and comes in gray-black:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/237241/product.web , http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/203699/product.web I can get this type of fry rock at local stores for about $1.50/lb.

As Big Gourami said, the time it will take for the rock to colonzie will depend on a lot of variables - I don't think he mentioned temperature and ration of live to base rock, but these are also factors, as well as the type of life doing the colonizing. If all you're looking to have is bacteria, these start to colonize as soon as you put the rock in the tank and have bacteria present, and can take as little as a week to a couple of months to be completely colonized. The shorter time assumes a higher temperature, and lots of starter bacteria while the longer time would be more typical of just the dry rock with little bacteria present.

As far as coralline algae, sponges, worms, etc. You should have decent looking dry rock in around 3-4 months, and by 6 months, there shouldn't be a lot of difference between the dry and live rock, other than what would be expected from the amount of light each gets (photosynthetic organisms only colonize where suitable lighting is present, some sponges and fan worms prefer the undersides of rock away from light).

I like to put the base rock at the bottom where it's less noticable, then put the live rock on top and to the front - it makes the rock look better in less time, but still saves money by the amount of base rock used.

Answer 2

Check out Life Oceanic on eBay. I got some nice live rock from them for a great price, even with shipping. If you are in their 2-3 day shipping zone, then you shouldn't have much die off, and you can start your tank off with the live stuff. If it's more economical, you may want to buy a lot of base rock with a few pounds of live rock to seed the base rock. Adding live sand from an established aquarium will also help jump start your aquarium.

Regards

Answer 3

well the ammount of time it takes to seed (liven) base rock is dependant on a lot of things, how much ammonia is in the tank, how much live rock/sand, the quality of the live rock/sand, etc.
as for price that depends on where you go and how much you're looking to get...
www.liveaquaria.com has some low end live rock that costs about as much as base but has some bacteria on it. about $60 for 35 pounds or a little less than $2/pound
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=2391&N=0

Answer 4

Is it just a once or twice click? If so then it could be a Pistol Shrimp. I had aquaculture live rock from the gulf of Mexico and it came with a couple. I have never seen them, But I have found there skeleton when molting. If its a continuous pop/click sound a few times in a row, it could be a Mantis Shrimp. It could also be part of your equipment and or just noises in your head. :-) Make sure you turn everything off, if you still hear it, try to see if any of the shrimp gobies made a friend. Best regards!