Live Rock for Fish Tank

Live rock is a very important part of the marine aquarium. It is generally used as a biological filter for an aquarium with fish. Live rock takes a while to be cured properly for the aquarium, but once you get the hang of it, it can provide excellent filtering qualities to your aquarium. In this article I will be talking about live rock, and the process used to cure it, and how it can be beneficial to your aquarium.

Like I said earlier, live rock is a biological filter. Live rock itself is not actually alive, it is merely the skeletal remains of corals, but it does host many beneficial bacteria that work with the nitrogen cycle in your aquarium to process waste. Live rocks also work well to stabilize other chemical levels in your aquarium as well. Live rock has beneficial effects on the PH levels, by releasing calcium to maintain balance. You can also get live rock to act as caves and hiding places for the fish in your aquarium.

To start out, you should order your live rock when you are ordering the other components for your marine aquarium. It takes a while to cure live rock so it is a good idea to get it early on in the process. I will instruct you in the best way to cure your live rock. Due to a natural breakdown in the organisms that make up live rock (which I will not go into detail about here). Curing your live rock can take up to 3 weeks. The amount of time is determined by the types of live rock you have and the amount.

To cure your live rock you will need the following supplies; a storage container of around 30 gallons, an aquarium heater that is submersible and can keep the water at around 80 degree temperature, a pump that will move the water, a brush to remove particles from the live rock surface, salt mix, and testing kits for water and ammonia.

1. Mix the salt mix with enough water to completely cover your live rock
2. Scrub your live rock gently to remove any particles.
3. Put the rock in the water with the pumps and heater to create the moving water environment.
4. Dimly light the container to prevent algae growing in the water
5. Change the water at least once every 3 days along with scrubbing of any material on the rock.
6. Test the water to be sure there are no visible ammonia levels and then your live rock is suitable for the aquarium.

Live rock is a great addition to the aquarium and I highly recommend you get it to aid in the filtration of the aquarium. Enough live rock can effectively take care of a large bio load. I hope you have found this article helpful for selecting and curing your very own live rock. If you have any more questions about live rock, you can always speak to sales representatives from around the web and they can help to answer any questions you may have.