The most daunting task for a beginner saltwater aquarium owner is choosing the right live rock to use in their aquarium. There are many different choices between the origin of the live rock, the size, porosity and price. Many beginning reef keepers are confused by the concept of using live reef rock as filtration for the marine aquarium and for may aquarists the concept is still shrouded in mystery.
So what is live rock anyway?
Live rock is merely rock that is collected in a natural reef or aquacultured from “seeded” rock in a plot in the ocean. This rock is generally dead coral skeletons that have broken off there mother colonies in storms or other natural and unnatural events. If this broken colony cannot support itself from the mother colony then it slowly dies and leaves behind a coral skeleton. This coral skeleton over time will become part of the reef and will become a host for beneficial nitrifying bacteria, other corals and anything else that wishes to inhabit it. Aquacultured Live rock is usually porous rock collected from a land area and is dropped in the ocean. Over time this aquacultured rock will become home to many different types of organisms and beneficial bacteria, this rock is usually collected after several months to a year and is sold to reefers world wide. Although it can be debated, aquacultured live rock is generally less porous then its natural counterpart and therefore more heavier.
How does the bacteria help my saltwater aquarium?
Live rock as I mentioned above is porous therefor creating deep holes in the rocks structure. These holes are home to nitrifying bacteria that create natural filtration for the saltwater aquarium. This nitrifying bacteria breaks down ammonia into nitrites and then breaks it down further into nitrate. The “die-off” from bacteria, plants and animals from shipping and exposure from air create a nitrite cycle. Once the live rock is placed into the aquarium the bacteria will start to regrow and will convert the present ammonia and nitrite.
The many types of live rock.
Naturally collect reef rock comes mainly from the southern pacific, places such as marshal islands, Tonga and Fiji currently prevail as live rock providers although the Caribbean is making a stronger presence in the live rock arena. There are many names for live rock grades and shapes. Tonga is known for its shelf, branch and ultra grade live rock, each name describes its characteristics. Ultra grade Tonga is generally live rock that has a very good amount of organisms and coralline algae on it. Branching Tonga live rock is just that, it looks like branches. Shelf live rock is merely slabs of rock that look similar to slate slabs. To better know your live rock it helps to know the corals that are indigenous to the area that the rock is found in, after all these corals made the rock to begin with.
How do I choose the right rock for my saltwater aquarium?
While some people will tell you that one live rock is better then another it simply is not true. All live rock are created equal with the exception of the shipper. Choosing the right live rock for your aquarium is merely a matter of taste and preference. for instance I prefer to have Fiji rock in my aquarium, I prefer the softball sized rock over all others because of its ease to move around and to create little niches for my fish to hide in. I have seen many beautiful Tonga branch aquariums and stunning saltwater displays with Tonga branch. But my preference for Fiji live rock has not stopped me from purchasing marshal island and Tonga branch pieces, after all bio-diversity is a key element for any reef aquarium.
What are Hitchhikers?
Hitchhikers is a term coined by reefkeepers referring to live organisms other then bacteria, that arrive on the rock once it has been received by the reefkeeper. These hitchhikers can be just about anything that lived in the area where the live rock has been collected and can be good or bad. Some common hitchhikers can be worms such as bristleworms, peanut worms and spaghetti worms. You could also get crabs, corals, and fish as hitchhikers while these may be a little bit more uncommon and they may not live through the shipping and cycling process they are definitely eye openers for the reefkeeper.
My 46gallon Bow-front saltwater aquarium is a real show piece in my home. Friends, family and beginner reefers often ask me how I maintain such an aquarium with corals, an anemone, fish and various pumps and such. This is how I keep up with my aquarium maintenance.
Daily:
1. Top off water, I have a line drawn in my sump and I top of my water using only Ro/Di water.
2. Nightly checks on my cpr overflow to make sure that the air is releasing from the overflow and there is no blockage.
3. Scrape off the side of the glass to prevent filamentous algae from forming.
4. Clean skimmer cup.
5. Check for any general problems with the tanks inhabitants and plumbing.
Weekly:
1. Blow off live rock with a turkey baster then perform a 10% water change.
2.Clean powerheads if they need to be cleaned.
3.Wipe off light shield with a vinegar water solution.
4. Test water for any ammonia, nitrite and nitrate buildup.
5.Wipe off glass with a vinegar water solution.
6. Wipe off any salt creep that had accumulated.
Monthly:
1. Clean and maintain return pump and skimmer pump
2. Clean skimmer
3. Suck Any detritus that made it into my sump
4. Check calcium and alkalinity levels ( I mainly have a soft coral tank with very few calcium loving inverts, those of you with a lot of LPS and SPS corals should do this more frequently).
5. Change my phosphate media and clean out my phosban reactor. As well as change out carbon.
6.Test TDS (total Dissolved Solids) in my Ro/Di water.
Yearly:
1. Change light bulbs ( when needed sometimes its as early as 7 months).
A sump can do a lot for your saltwater aquarium. It provides a place to hide all of your equipment, and it increases your tank’s water capacity. Two very important things when you want to have a nice display reef aquarium but when designed correctly it can also be a place to trap detritus, filter your water and cool your saltwater aquarium. I use a simple sump on my 46gallon bowfront aquarium and this article explains how it is done.
The way my sump works is that water from the main tank overflows into a CPR overflow box that is pictured above. The water then flows down a 3/4″ vinyl tubing into my ten gallon tank in my stand. I use a powerhead to keep bubbles from being trapped in the CPR’s U bend. When deciding on an overflow box it is important to choose the correct return pump that will not exceed the gph that the overflow box can handle. Now if you bought a reef ready aquarium then you wont have to worry about an overflow box flooding or cleaning out an overflow box. On that note, I have been using the CPR style overflow box for over five years without any mishap. There are many other kinds of overflow boxes but that is for another blog.
The water from the main display aquarium rushes into the overflow box and down into the vinyl tubing you see on the left hand side of the above picture. I currently do not have a refugium but in the past I did have one on this tank. It used to be sectioned off where the water comes in the sump.
When the water reaches my sump it hits a filter bag filled with carbon, this reduces the amount of bubbles, saltwater spray and keeps the carbon moving. It also catches detritus which is important when you have a bare bottomed aquarium. In the sump I also have my phosban reactor, a glass thermometer, heater, skimmer, and a Mag 5 return pump that is hooked up to a SCWD. It is essential that I keep a nice quite system so by resting my overflow line and my return line on sponges it keeps down any hum or noise that may develop. I also have installed a smaller piece of tubing on my overflow line to keep out air pockets.
I currently use an Aqua C Remora protien skimmer (not the best but it does the job). It is a hang on back or hang on tank type of skimmer. It works equally as well on the sump or on the main display tank. I prefer to have as much room in my main tank for fish and corals and for aesthetics, so it is placed in the sump. The return of the skimmer pours out onto a plastic knitting sheet, If you have never seen one it is white plastic with openings about this [ ] big all throughout the sheet. This helps the water from splashing and aerates it at the same time. This plastic knitting sheet is placed in a tupperware container that is drilled with holes. I also have a bag of Purigen in the tupperware container so that when the water from the skimmer flows onto the plastic knitting sheet it goes right over the bag, keeping the Purigen moving.
Overflow Rating vs Return Pump
The return as I mentioned before is a Mag Drive 5 pump that has a Max gph of 500. My CPR overflow box is a cs50 which has an overflow rating of 300 gph, this means that when the CPR overflow box exceeds 300gph it overflows the box and you have a nice saltwater enhanced floor .
So then how do I get away from using a 500gph return pump? Since the Mag Drive pump pushes water through a SCWD it causes a small amount of friction and the water losses some of its momentum. The Mag Drive also has a head loss when pumping water straight up, At four feet the Mag Drive only pumps 310 gph. As the water reaches the top of the tank there is a little more friction as the water is pushed out of two directional U-Tubes. When all is said and done I estimate that the pump eventually pushes 290gph or a little less.
This rock is generally dead coral skeletons that have broken off there mother colonies in storms or other natural and unnatural events. If this broken colony cannot support itself from the mother colony then it slowly dies and leaves behind a coral skeleton. This coral skeleton over time will become part of the reef and will become a host for beneficial nitrifying bacteria, other corals and anything else that wishes to inhabit it. Aquacultured Live rock is usually porous rock collected from a land area and is dropped in the ocean. Over time this aquacultured rock will become home to many different types of organisms and beneficial bacteria, this rock is usually collected after several months to a year and is sold to reefers world wide. Although it can be debated, aquacultured live rock is generally less porous then its natural counterpart and therefore more heavier.
The many types of live rock.
.