Adam Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 I am a little behind with this newbie question as I've already purchased some live rock. But I often hear people speak about augmenting their live rock with base rock. I still have never hear what exactly base rock is and where you find it...is this just lower grade live rock? I don't recall seeing just "base rock" for sale anywhere...although I've never specifically looked for it. I have a 50g with only 10lbs of live rock right now and I'm interested in filling it out but don't have the $8/lb to add 40 more lbs of live rock...I suppose Im just trying to be cheap in a hobby that doesnt exactly accomodate the thrifty!! Any input would be great! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 I'm no SW expert... don't even have a tank up and running, yet; but, I'll be checking out CanReef before I head to the store - you can usually find some good deals there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neely Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 (edited) baserock would be "non live" rock that you can use as a foundation for your LR. There are many types rock that you could call baserock out there. Caribsea sells dry rock called reef rock, reef bones (which look very nice), which i think is basically dried up live rock and coral skeletons IIRC. Ceck j&ls website for what they carry. Alot of people choose to go the even cheaper route with using tufa rock as base rock which can be found dirt cheap at landscaping shops around town. There is an argument going around with minerals in the tufa rock and that they are algae magnets- but many people swear by it as base rock as well. i hope this makes sense- and i hope memory serves me well and that im not blowing smoke up your a$$ Edited February 6, 2007 by neely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2manytanks Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 (edited) Base rock would not be live. If your main concern is just filling up the tank with rock structure it's fine, and you'd have the added benefit of not having to wait for the rock to cure. In addition it would eventually become "live" as bacteria and other inhabitants of the "live" rock you already have spread and establish themselves in your new base rock. But, you'd have to make sure the rock is safe for use in your saltwater tank, and preferably very porous so that there is lots of surface area for the bacteria to establish themselves in - rock like Neely suggested. It'll also be a long time before it looks as nice as the real live rock. I haven't been into salt for long, so that's about all I can add. EDIT: And of course the base rock isn't going to contribute to the filtering of your water until it does become colonized with bacteria from your other rock, so you'll need to keep a bit of a closer eye on your water quality and be more careful not to over-populate the tank. Edited February 6, 2007 by 2manytanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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