I did not see a thread on this, however if there is a one similiar, point me in the direction.

I would like to get information on how to start with base rock and turn it to live rock. I am a step-by-step person, the information I have read is a little confusing, as it jumps from base rock seeding with live rock, to putting it in your tank. How long does it take for the base rock to seed? Lighting requirements, I get conflicting information, some say light, some say no light. Do I need a heater? When the rock is seeded, does it need to cure? Can I seed the rock in the tank I have now or is it recommended that I house the rock in another tank until it is cured?
Again, to ease the confusion, any help is appreciated. I would like to start on something while I am working towards my equipment (I hate not having a money tree!) and it seems I can purchase base rock relatively inexpensive and have that "growing" over the next few months. Step by step instructions are very helpful. Thank you for all your help so far, everyone here is super nice and friendly. Kudos to everyone :up:

Your base rock will be seeded b being in close proimity to some cured LR from the LFS or another reefer. IMO, direct conact is best, but even being in the same tank will do it. Bacterial coloniation will begin immediately, but it can tke up to 6 months for it to be truly indistinguishable from regular live rock.

Lighting is not necessary, but a heater, and water circulation are. I' assuming the tank has no livestock yet? I'd toss the base rock and live rock in the tank and just let it go. You'll need to maintain good water conditions, obviously, in order for the bacteria and other lif to thrive. If there's no livestock in the tank, you may want to add very small ammount of fish food once a week to keep the bacteria supplied with food. Othr than that, it's just a waitig game.

Yeah, there is no livestock in the tank.

Would you recommend also putting in a DSB? I am planning on my system having one. Then I can just let the rock sit and watch the tank come to life :)

Yes, I'd go ahead and add it now if at all possile. it will have a good head start for when you start adding livestock. You also might want to see if the LFS or a local reefer or two will give you a couple of cups of sand from their established tanks.

Your base rock will be seeded by being in close proximity to some cured LR from the LFS or another reefer. IMO, direct contact is best, but even being in the same tank will do it. Bacterial colonization will begin immediately, but it can take up to 6 months for it to be truly indistinguishable from regular live rock.

Lighting is not necessary, but a heater, and water circulation are. I' assuming the tank has no livestock yet? I'd toss the base rock and live rock in the tank and just let it go. You'll need to maintain good water conditions, obviously, in order for the bacteria and other life to thrive. If there's no livestock in the tank, you may want to add very small amount of fish food once a week to keep the bacteria supplied with food. Other than that, it's just a waiting game.

i could not have said it any better. i DID fix a couple of misspelled words for MY post though. :up:

Yes, I'd go ahead and add it now if at all possible. it will have a good head start for when you start adding livestock. You also might want to see if the LFS or a local reefer or two will give you a couple of cups of sand from their established tanks.

yup, what he said. the reasoning behind the LS is to "jump start" YOUR sandbed. :)

Yep I agree with the guys. Check out Marco Rocks, a TR sponsor, for some beautiful base rock. Also I'd recommend this thread The Building of a Reef (tank) (http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx), it tells you why go slow is the right way to go!

i could not have said it any better. i DID fix a couple of misspelled words for MY post though. :up:


Yeah, yeah. You know me and spelling aren"t good buddies, especialy since work said we can't use Firefox anymore. Love the built in spellcheck :)

since work said we can't use Firefox anymore. Love the built in spellcheck :)LOL, the help desk let me have FF when I called to complain about my new computer coming with IE6! But then I had a problem with the Team Site that allows me to make changes to the information on the website (but not the function of it). So my friend in IT stopped by to see why he couldn't duplicate the problem. It turns out the Team Site won't work in FF! Would it have been too much for the help desk to have known that?