New to the hobby (just reading so far), rock question

justin.nethers · 08/18/2009, 10:57 AM

Hey everyone, I am completely new the hobby. I have just been reading up on it in my free time for the past month or so trying to learn as much as I can before I start out. I am not in a rush but I though of something that might save me some time/money in the future but I am not sure if it is a good idea or not. Any ideas or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I was back home visiting my mom a few weeks ago and I found two of my old aquariums at her house (10g and 15-20g) that she was happy to get out of there. I brought them back to Cinci with me and rinsed them out and filled them full of water to check for leaks. It's been about a week and no leaks so far. My wife is hounding me to move them off of the porch, though, so I am getting ready to empty them and take them to the basement. They aren't in the best of cosmetic shape so I won't want to use them for displays but one of them might end up being a sump in the future.

My question is this. Is it okay to buy some dry rock, from a place like Marcorocks.com, and set up the two aquariums to start turning the rock in to live rock? As far as I can tell I would just need to get some live sand or live rock to "seed" the dry stuff but after a few months it would start to turn live itself.

I am thinking this would save me some time in the future when I finally do decide on a tank size, I wouldn't have to wait as long for the nice looking live rock. It would also save me some money in not having to buy live rock.

Am I far off on my thinking here or is this a viable plan to start with? If I do go this route, what stuff am I going to need to buy other than the dry rock, salt and live stuff for seeding? I have two heaters that were used in these tanks when they were freshwater. Would I just need something for water flow?

Thanks,
Justin

drummereef · 08/18/2009, 11:09 AM

justin.nethers

To Reef Central

Ranchhand02 · 08/18/2009, 11:24 AM

Check out rockquatics.com. They send you the rock and the seed. It should be alright as long as you do not wait to long to get a tank. It should work for a few months. I would put a light, a protein skimmer and a powerhead for circulation in the tank.

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/18/2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by justin.nethers

My question is this. Is it okay to buy some dry rock, from a place like Marcorocks.com, and set up the two aquariums to start turning the rock in to live rock? As far as I can tell I would just need to get some live sand or live rock to "seed" the dry stuff but after a few months it would start to turn live itself.

I am thinking this would save me some time in the future when I finally do decide on a tank size, I wouldn't have to wait as long for the nice looking live rock. It would also save me some money in not having to buy live rock.

Am I far off on my thinking here or is this a viable plan to start with? If I do go this route, what stuff am I going to need to buy other than the dry rock, salt and live stuff for seeding? I have two heaters that were used in these tanks when they were freshwater. Would I just need something for water flow?

Thanks,
Justin

That's a fine plan. You'll need to keep the water at the right salinity (watch for evaporation!) and temperature. Plus, you'll need some light, so you can grow coraline, and some circulation - a few small powerheads would be plenty.

justin.nethers · 08/18/2009, 11:34 AM

What kind of lights would I use? I have the old light from the aquarium when it was used as a freshwater tank. Would that work for this or do I need something more powerful?

Would I need a protein skimmer if I routinely changed the water?

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/18/2009, 11:37 AM

Just about any light will be fine, you just need to keep the coralline on life support. If your old light is a plain normal output fluorescent fixture, it'll be OK (not ideal but it'll work.) You might want to buy a marine-specific bulb for it, which should only be a few bucks - look for something in the 10k range - most FW lights are really yellow, like 6.5k.

No need for a skimmer on this tank, though if you have one, use it. Water changes once in a while will be fine. If there's no skimmer, point one of the powerheads at the tank surface to create some agitation, which will help with gas exchange.

corbett_n · 08/18/2009, 12:17 PM

get the dry rock from a lfs, mine is only $2 a pound

justin.nethers · 08/18/2009, 08:01 PM

Thanks for the help so far.

08/18/2009, 10:57 AM	#1
justin.nethers Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 3	New to the hobby (just reading so far), rock question Hey everyone, I am completely new the hobby. I have just been reading up on it in my free time for the past month or so trying to learn as much as I can before I start out. I am not in a rush but I though of something that might save me some time/money in the future but I am not sure if it is a good idea or not. Any ideas or feedback would be greatly appreciated. I was back home visiting my mom a few weeks ago and I found two of my old aquariums at her house (10g and 15-20g) that she was happy to get out of there. I brought them back to Cinci with me and rinsed them out and filled them full of water to check for leaks. It's been about a week and no leaks so far. My wife is hounding me to move them off of the porch, though, so I am getting ready to empty them and take them to the basement. They aren't in the best of cosmetic shape so I won't want to use them for displays but one of them might end up being a sump in the future. My question is this. Is it okay to buy some dry rock, from a place like Marcorocks.com, and set up the two aquariums to start turning the rock in to live rock? As far as I can tell I would just need to get some live sand or live rock to "seed" the dry stuff but after a few months it would start to turn live itself. I am thinking this would save me some time in the future when I finally do decide on a tank size, I wouldn't have to wait as long for the nice looking live rock. It would also save me some money in not having to buy live rock. Am I far off on my thinking here or is this a viable plan to start with? If I do go this route, what stuff am I going to need to buy other than the dry rock, salt and live stuff for seeding? I have two heaters that were used in these tanks when they were freshwater. Would I just need something for water flow? Thanks, Justin

08/18/2009, 11:09 AM	#2
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	justin.nethers *To Reef Central* __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

08/18/2009, 11:37 AM	#6
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Just about any light will be fine, you just need to keep the coralline on life support. If your old light is a plain normal output fluorescent fixture, it'll be OK (not ideal but it'll work.) You might want to buy a marine-specific bulb for it, which should only be a few bucks - look for something in the 10k range - most FW lights are really yellow, like 6.5k. No need for a skimmer on this tank, though if you have one, use it. Water changes once in a while will be fine. If there's no skimmer, point one of the powerheads at the tank surface to create some agitation, which will help with gas exchange. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

08/18/2009, 11:24 AM	#3
Ranchhand02 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 532	Check out rockquatics.com. They send you the rock and the seed. It should be alright as long as you do not wait to long to get a tank. It should work for a few months. I would put a light, a protein skimmer and a powerhead for circulation in the tank.

08/18/2009, 11:34 AM	#5
justin.nethers Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 3	What kind of lights would I use? I have the old light from the aquarium when it was used as a freshwater tank. Would that work for this or do I need something more powerful? Would I need a protein skimmer if I routinely changed the water?

08/18/2009, 12:17 PM	#7
corbett_n Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SC Posts: 1,271	get the dry rock from a lfs, mine is only $2 a pound

08/18/2009, 08:01 PM	#8
justin.nethers Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 3	Thanks for the help so far.