Tufa in my tank?

MikeP471612 · 01/12/2007, 09:44 PM

I've been trying to research base rock, someone told me about tufa rock. Has anyone used it for their tank? What did you think about it?

Thanks

joelamb7467 · 01/12/2007, 09:47 PM

I live in Utah and we can collect it in certain spots. The stuff around here is pretty dense, but once in the tank for a while you cant really tell the difference between it and regular LR.

Andrew · 01/12/2007, 09:54 PM

I myself don't like Tuffa rock all that much since it's light weight. That may sound good to some people but it's hard to aquascape with, without it falling in on you. You would be much better off getting some lacerock. Works really good after the coraline starts to take over, it will look just like any old liverock.

MikeP471612 · 01/12/2007, 10:53 PM

My plan is to find something to put on the bottom. Once I get a 'layer' of base rock down all the good LR would go over top. I don't want to put something in that could cause problems in the future. What type of problems...I don't know I'm still pretty new at this. You guys tell me your opinions on what will and what won't work

Thanks for the help

syrinx · 01/12/2007, 11:00 PM

I had a 72x18x30 tank that the whole back wall was made of tufa and then covered with coral and whatnot. I think it was 3 or 4 cases total. Was super killer and the coraline grows fast on it. I like the weight and porisity of it myself if it falls its not like a brick against the glass!

MikeP471612 · 01/13/2007, 12:44 PM

Anybody else use tufa in their reef?

ambaratur · 01/13/2007, 01:05 PM

I used 50 lbs of tufa underneath 100 lbs of Fiji live rock and it is working out great so far. The tufa that I bought from my LFS was nice and pourous and I was able to use a chisel to shape it to my liking. If you check my red house you can see how I stacked it in there.

Slowly starting to grow coraline algae on it and most people don't even notice it because the fiji covers it up. I was very happy with it and saved me a lot of money to use some dry rock to start out with.

MikeP471612 · 01/13/2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ambaratur
I used 50 lbs of tufa underneath 100 lbs of Fiji live rock and it is working out great so far. The tufa that I bought from my LFS was nice and pourous and I was able to use a chisel to shape it to my liking. If you check my red house you can see how I stacked it in there.

Slowly starting to grow coraline algae on it and most people don't even notice it because the fiji covers it up. I was very happy with it and saved me a lot of money to use some dry rock to start out with.

You're right the tufa does blend in nicely with the LR. The tank looks good. How long have you had it going?

MikeP471612 · 01/14/2007, 02:02 AM

Bump...any more tufa or base rock info?

01/12/2007, 09:44 PM	#1
MikeP471612 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 379	Tufa in my tank? I've been trying to research base rock, someone told me about tufa rock. Has anyone used it for their tank? What did you think about it? Thanks

01/12/2007, 11:00 PM	#5
syrinx Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: champaign Posts: 3,160	I had a 72x18x30 tank that the whole back wall was made of tufa and then covered with coral and whatnot. I think it was 3 or 4 cases total. Was super killer and the coraline grows fast on it. I like the weight and porisity of it myself if it falls its not like a brick against the glass! __________________ My views are based on 49years as an aquarist, 25 years as a pro reef consultant, 10 years of owning a LFS, and the results of thousands of customers tanks. But I am always learning.

01/13/2007, 01:05 PM	#7
ambaratur Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 776	I used 50 lbs of tufa underneath 100 lbs of Fiji live rock and it is working out great so far. The tufa that I bought from my LFS was nice and pourous and I was able to use a chisel to shape it to my liking. If you check my red house you can see how I stacked it in there. Slowly starting to grow coraline algae on it and most people don't even notice it because the fiji covers it up. I was very happy with it and saved me a lot of money to use some dry rock to start out with. __________________ "God is dead." - Nietzsche "Nietzsche is dead." - God Click my red house for my 125 gal. tank build thread. Member of Northern Arizona Marine Aquarium Society (NAMAS) Current Tank Info: 125g AGA MegaFlow - 150lbs Fiji live rock - 50g DIY sump/fuge - Tunze 9010/9015 Skimmer - Eheim 1260 - 2x Seio 1500 - 5x 80w IceCap T5 Retro - PhosBan Reactor 150 - AC Jr. Controller - Typhoon III RO/DI - Mixed Reef

01/12/2007, 09:47 PM	#2
joelamb7467 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 61	I live in Utah and we can collect it in certain spots. The stuff around here is pretty dense, but once in the tank for a while you cant really tell the difference between it and regular LR.

01/12/2007, 09:54 PM	#3
Andrew Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 13,640	I myself don't like Tuffa rock all that much since it's light weight. That may sound good to some people but it's hard to aquascape with, without it falling in on you. You would be much better off getting some lacerock. Works really good after the coraline starts to take over, it will look just like any old liverock.

01/12/2007, 10:53 PM	#4
MikeP471612 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 379	My plan is to find something to put on the bottom. Once I get a 'layer' of base rock down all the good LR would go over top. I don't want to put something in that could cause problems in the future. What type of problems...I don't know I'm still pretty new at this. You guys tell me your opinions on what will and what won't work Thanks for the help

01/13/2007, 12:44 PM	#6
MikeP471612 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 379	Anybody else use tufa in their reef?

01/14/2007, 02:02 AM	#9
MikeP471612 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 379	Bump...any more tufa or base rock info?