L I V E R O C K F A Q

General Questions:

How much live rock do I need to have?

This depends on what your intent is with your tank ...
is it going to be a full-blown reef wall tank, or is it
going to be a system mostly for fish? Open and airy or?

If you're making it a fish system, you can get away with
around a pound per gallon of water just for filtration purposes,
but you still may want 1.5 to 2 pounds per gallon
for aesthetics or decorative purposes, depending look you want.

If it's going to be a reef tank ... then you're going
to want about 1.5 pounds per gallon as a starting point.
You may well end up with 2 or 3 lbs. per gallon for a solid
reef wall. Most live rock available now is somewhat heavy.
You can start with less, and cherry pick a few pieces later.

Can I mix more than one kind of live rock?

Yes.

(When ordering our live rock, remember that it's
shipped in box-lots only.)

What if I already have live sand in my system?

You may be able to get away with less live rock;
but, visually, you'll still want 1.5 pounds per
gallon of water for decorative purposes.

If there's any rubble in the box, what do I do with it?

If there is some rubble at the bottom of the box,
spread it around your tank or put it in your sump.
Salvage every possible gram of it, as it's highly bioactive!

After my live rock has cured and I've put it in
my system, how long should I wait before adding fish?
What about corals?

After it's cured, it's ready ... ammonia is zero and
nitrates low. It's always best to introduce only a couple
of fish at first, the same goes with corals.

Curing Questions:

What if I don't have a skimmer?

Watch for a yellow tint in the water, indicating high ammonia.
You'll need to do more water changes if you aren't using
a skimmer. With a high-grade skimmer and carbon filtration,
it may be possible to cure your live rock without water changes.
But, without both of these, you'll need to do some water
changes ... have some water mixed and ready ahead
of time so it's there when you need it.

How often do I change the water while I'm curing?

That will depend on whether or not you are skimming
and/or carbon-filtering your ammonia out of your
curing vessel. You'll probably need to change half
of it the second or third day. You may possibly
need to change half again the second or
third day after that. Takes tests, watch it, and
smell it to determine if and when water changes
are necessarily. If it looks or smells bad, do a
partial water change. The nose knows.

How will I know when it's fully cured?

Ammonia reading will show zero.
When curing, nitrate or ammonia tests will show
low at first, high in about a week, then slowly fall to zero.

Will it hurt the live rock if I use a carbon filter?

It won't hurt the rock during curing, but we don't
advise using carbon all of the time afterward.

Does the live rock need light when curing?

NO, not during the first couple weeks. The ammonia battle
will take precedent over lighting at first. Plus you don't want
to start algae growing before you can have grazers on it.

After a week or two, a little bit of fluorescent light won't hurt.
A 4-hour ... maybe tops ... photoperiod to start.
Ease it slowly into a photoperiod. It's not advised to
"hit it" with halide for a month at least.
And then, only a couple hours a day for a week or two.
Slowly increase it over the second month.

So, light is okay after the initial first two weeks,
but not the same amount as acroporas or clams.
Some people burn their rock by giving too much light too soon.
Do not give more than four to six hours of light during
curing and that is fluorescent, VHO, compact fluorescent
of actinic and/or 50-50's, but not 10-20 K's (halides) during curing.

Does "deepwater" live rock require less
light than other types of live rock?

Yes. Although, for instance, Vava'u live rock
from Tonga deep waters can be trained to handle more
light and become adapted to more light by slowly
increasing the light levels (photoperiod).
"Deepwater" live rock comes from deep water where
it's not accustomed to super bright light, though will adapt.
It is great for non-halide lit tanks.

What should I look for as far as "critters" before
putting my rock in the water to cure?

We almost never have any reports of bristle worms
or mantis shrimp, which can be abundant in Florida
live rock. Usually, the time out of the water during
transit will kill them. Look for "soft spots" ...
sometimes there are places that look like rock,
but are actually sponge ... chip it off to clean
it off as much as possible. Anything might be in a cranny, crack
or crevice. We've had live clams, anemones, corals, urchins,
sea stars, and cucumbers make the trip, besides any manner
of crab or crustacean (these are rocks from the ocean).
And most would be considered a prize, so take good care
of your rock while curing, you don't know what you may
be saving.
:)

Questions to not ask us ...

"I had a 200k light an inch over the water on
a five gallon tank ... what do you think went wrong?"

We hope our LIVE ROCK FAQ has helped you with
some questions you may have had ... if you have a
question that is not mentioned on this page,
please e-mail it to us!