base rock...
 

is it safe to add base rock (reef rock) to a tank that has already been running for about 9 months? will it make my levels (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, PH) go wack??

i have a 33 gallon tank with about 20 lbs of live rock in the tank. it's not a reef tank yet, but i want to turn it into one. i also have 2 clowns, 1 blue damsel, 1 cleaner shrimp, some hermits, and some snails. i was doing some research and found out that you could use base rock to build the majority of your structures, then add some live rock to seed the base rock. i wish i had known this earlier. i thought that i had to buy tons of live rock which would cost an arm and a leg.

also... if i'm able to add base rock to the tank, about how long does it take for it to become live rock?

What are you planning on adding as base rock?

I would boil or bleach any base rock you use, and perhaps cure it for a few weeks. I would expect that since it is essentially sterile, there will be no die-off and therefore no cycle. I would only be afraid that somehow it would have been contaminated, ie. perhaps it has been sitting in a garage near motor oil, pesticides, etc. I used 150 lbs of base rock in my tank and although I cannot say for certain when it became "live", I have not had any problems with it, and after six months, I would say that it is impossible to tell the difference between my Kanai live rock and the base rock, aside from two large chunks that do not receive much direct light. My base rock was live rock that was bleached, rinsed and left unused for about five years.

oh... i'm planning on using whatever the LFS sells for base rock.

this is from JL Aquatics:
http://www.jlaquatics.com/cgi-bin/sh...logno=cs-rrock

If that's what you're adding, you'll be fine. Give it a quick rinse to get teh dust off and put it in the tank. It will be "live" in no time!

awsome! thanks for the replies. i'm getting 40 - 50 lbs :D

actually... i talked to someone at Big Al's in Burnaby, BC and he said that it takes some time before the reef rock can become "live". he said that a better type of base rock would be something called Reef Bone. it's basically live rock that has been dried and has a lot of die off inside the rock. he says that it's a little more expensive than the petrified stuff, and that i'd have to cure it for about a month before adding it in the tank. is this true? would Reef Rock take longer to become "live", even though i already have about 20 lbs of live rock in my tank already?

I can't see what the difference would be, but I am no expert... Bacteria will colonise the rocks no matter what they are...

Before you put all that rock in you might want to catch that evil :evil: damsel before you put in so much rock that you cant find him ... sorry but I cant stand damsels ... they are miniature bullies with a serious attitude :eek: < end rant >

Why not add live rock that has been in a LFS for awhile?
It has already cured in their tanks and will produce far more animals and diversity than bleached or dead rock. Just watch your ammonia if you have problems you can reduce them with water changes. I suggest not to add too much at a time. You can clean off any questionable organisms off the rock in a bucket of saltwater before adding it to your tank.