5g, what can I do with that?

[Wormo3188]

Nevermind, I just saw it, it was on this site, supposodly I can just take some live sand/rock and it will grow on to the dead stuff and thus make that live. Hmm...I have an idea!

Actually it was stupid idea, but I will say it any ways. I was thinking that I could put on a ac 200/300 or something, as well as the live/dead rock, and as the cultures grow across and start to be alive then I can just leave the AC filter on and use it just for circulation of water in the tank, I dont know if thats a good idea or not, but hey, its worth a try.

 

[wayne at home]

Yes, that might work.

Beware - I am very old and remember marine keeping before live rock and the berlin system. The main features were that it was hard to do and everything usually died. People don't use live rock for the hell of it, they use it because it works , and it's a damn site easier than the alternative. This is not a time to live in the 70's, 80's.

 

[Wormo3188]

But I liked the 80's...

Actually who the hell am I kidding, I dont remember the 80's.

Ok, so today I am going to go my LFS that sells live rock/sand and I am going to get the scoop on their prices and quality and whatnot, I will tell you what happens when I get back.

 

[Wormo3188]

Ok, heres the situation

My LFS seems to have a huge bucket of saltwater and live rock in a closet, it looks like some branchy thing chopped up into little 5-6 inch peices, I am not sure what the deal with that is, but whatever.

Does live rock have to be kept in the light when awaiting transport to another tank? Cause it has been there for a while, so I dont even know if it is still alive. Also, they have some purpleish looking rock in their saltwater display tank, but the rock they are selling is white/pinkish.

They are selling it for $7.99 a lbs. I dont know if that is a good deal or not, but from my calculations that would be over 230 dollars for 30lbs, which honestly, I dont have that much money to spend on some rocks. So how much live rock would I need for my 30g tank? And how much live rock would I need if I was to be mixing it in with some dead rock and wait a while for the cultures to spread.

 

[tango339]

Try starting a nano reef with two common clowns. I would use a
small bio wheel and maybe a small protein skimmer.

 

[Wormo3188]

Hmmm...thats about the extent of the fish I wanted to get
Does that mean that I need live rock or not? I would think not, but I still dont know enough.

 

[NTidd]

It sounds like you might need to do some more research, while doing so save your pennies. I have put in well over $1000 into my 29g because I started without doing a whole lot of research, and I started without live rock.

 

[Wormo3188]

Dont woorry, I am still researching, and I am holding on to those pennies for dear life!

 

[wayne]

Well you'd still need to sort out some biofiltration unless you want to do a largish water change every day or two. That way you won't need the skimmer. The problem is that it's unstable and time consuming, and that's why I think small tanks are hard work, plus you can't go on vacation with out sorting out fishcare.

If you haven't done much real research a 5 is a hard project to pull out, but harder on the fish.

The live rock sounds not so good, and not great value at 7.99 - it should look good. Are they aerating, filtering, heating the water in 'the closet'. Go to some more lfs's - this doesn't sound ideal - the bacteria will still be alive, but I woud guess most other stuff has died off. It's not easy to say if you can't see it. What does it smell like?

 

[Wormo3188]

Well, it didnt smell to great, there was some really thick film on the surface, the room is heated to about 75 degrees, but the water isnt, it isnt airated and it is just sitting in a big garbage can, Now they do have some live rock on their reef tank that is functional, so maybe i can ask them for some that, I dont know. I have changed my thinking over to a 30g tank. I am definitly putting a protien skimmer on, I am just working on the biological filtration now, I was thinking how would an Emperor 440, or 400 whatever that model is work as a biofilter?

 

[NTidd]

I would order some live rock from the internet if there is any lfs that have good stuff.

 

[Wormo3188]

I guess I will have to do that, I just like picking out the stuff myself. I guess in the end it doesnt really matter. Ok I am going look into that.

 

[NTidd]

try www.liveaquaria.com, i've heard good things about them, let us know.

 

[wayne at home]

The stuff in the closet sounds abysmal - avoid it like the plague. Do you live in New York City or state - it doesn't matter still o to a few lfs's as th quality and price varies like heck.
Now you can use a cannister or HOB or whatever, but. Well for a start you'll get more, and different biofilter bacteria and faster from the live rock. Also after a while, as these filters do filter fast, but are entirely aerobic, you'll start to get a nitrate build up that will be hard to combat with water changes. This may or may not be a hassle to your fish, depending on fish type, but it ain't great for inverts and you will have mega algae problems. Thiss also happens with wet drys, it's their principal problem. The cure is to gradually remove the media, till you're relying on your rock and sand for filtration, and the filter is a glorified water pump with the option to hang carbon in there. If you have a wet dry, they're often converted to sumps at this point, and filled woth live rock perhaps , or a deep sand bed or macro algae farm.
Keep thinking and asking questions. Go and look at some tanks if you know anyone, especially tanks that asre more than 18 months old, as these guys will know how it is.

 

[Wormo3188]

Alright, thanks for all your help, I live in new york state and there are 3-4 fish stores that I go to, only one seems to have a large quantity of live rock, but the other might have enough for what I am looking for, and since they are a chain they might have it at a lower price. I am going to check them out soon, and there is another one a few hours out the way that I pass about once or twice a month, I could also check them out, but I am afraid of the trip back with the live rock, I guess that 2 hours in a car couldnt hurt it that badly.

 

[Ass Mullet]

You may be able to use the 5G as a refugium. I'm fortunate to live near a major supplier here in PA. Live rock costs 5 or 6 bux a pound here as well. www.thatpetplace.com is the site for them. It's a huge store with lots o' selection in all things fresh and saltwater. Check em out if you're in the area...it's worth the trip.