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Many aquarists add the requisite one to two pounds of live rock per gallon without truly appreciating the benefit it brings to the health and stability of the system.
Live rock is good for nearly all saltwater tanks whether they be fish-only systems with live rock for decoration, invertebrate systems or full-blown reef systems. Many aquarists include one to two pounds of live rock per gallon of aquarium water because that is what someone told them to do, but few people starting out in the hobby appreciate all the benefits live rock brings to a marine aquarium. This article looks at three benefits to having live rock in your tank:
What is Live Rock?Live rock is not alive—rather it is what lives on and in the live rock that gives it its name. Live rock is porous rock that has been colonized by flora and fauna after prolonged exposure to a biologically-rich environment. Most live rock comes from the rubble zones of reefs and are pieces of living reef that have been knocked off by storm damage or other naturally occurring events. Some live rock is also aquacultured—in fact, if the aquarist were to add “dead rock” (often sold as base rock) to a mature saltwater aquarium, it would, over time, become live rock. Live Rock as HabitatThe use of live rock is both visually appealing and conducive to most marine organisms’ habitat requirements. It is easy to recreate a piece of natural reef in a home aquarium using live rock. The interesting shapes provide myriad opportunities to build caves, arches or whatever reef topography you are looking to recreate, and these features—built out of live rock—are the most similar to the tank inhabitants’ natural ecosystem. Anyone watching a blenny snake between the porous passages of the rock will see that live rock is the ideal habitat. Live Rock as Bio-Media In terms of biological filtration—one of the three types of filtration upon which most marine systems rely—live rock is an excellent choice if used in sufficient quantities (one to two pounds per gallon). In short, live rock is very porous resulting in lots of surface area, and biological filtration is all about surface area. It is this surface area that is colonized by denitrifying bacterial fauna and which is largely responsible for the effective decomposition of organic waste in the system. It should be noted that live rock, when compared with other bio-media, is the least efficient given its weight to surface area ratio. Nonetheless, live rock’s other attributes, combined with its utility as bio-media, make its inefficiency pale in comparison to the benefits. Live Rock Contributes Biological DiversityThere are so many times during the set-up of a marine aquarium where the aquarist must wait for days, weeks or months before adding the next animal to their tank. Studying the remarkable biological diversity which comes free of charge on healthy live rock, makes this waiting period a whole lot more interesting. Break out your magnifying glass, and sit close to the tank. You will be amazed at the diversity of species that “come to life.” From sponges and peanut worms to various mollusks and echinoderms (serpent and brittle stars), the organisms that give live rock its name will no doubt amaze the viewer, and their diversity will contribute greatly to the overall stability of the system. Some Quick Facts about Live Rock
The copyright of the article Why Use Live Rock in Pet Care is owned by Ret Talbot. Permission to republish Why Use Live Rock in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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