What's so special about live rock?

Hey just read an article talking about how live rock is really alive it's just the bacteria growing on the rocks that makes it live.... So why did I pay 7$/lb for live rock when it sounds like I could have bought regular rocks and added a bio suppliment???

 

I here you on the price. You could always use some lace rock and seed it with one or two peices of live rock.

 

Thats a very good question. I thought of this once and have since been "growing" my own live rock. I start out with a few pieces of live rock from a lfs and then place it in a small aquarium. Not my dt. Anyways I add dry rock in with it. Within a couple of weeks the rock starts to get some color to it and I would guess becomes "live". I dont buy live rock anymore.

 

those bio suppliments do nothing. you need the stuff on the live rock to start cycaling your tank. also with live rock you get more then that you get alages, sponges, worms. they are all need in a saltwater tank

 

I have to agree that often you get more than what you paid for in live rock. All of the copepods, amphipods, and worms in my tank I can contribute to buying live rock.

 

Correct, live rock isn't actually live, it has "live" stuff growing on it (and maybe some live hitch-hikers living within it). Many people buy 90% "dry" rock (reef rock that has been cleaned or naturally bleached from being out of water for a significant period of time) and "seed" it with just a little live rock. This not only makes it cheaper, but reduces the chance of bringing in the hitch-hikers. Some people even do 100% dry rock, and let the tank naturally populate with all forms of "life" (by adding a scoop of live sand or some other small source of established micro organisms). This approaches works fine too; it just takes longer.

The "additive" products are no substitute for letting nature take its course. Any new tank must be cycled, regardless of how you start. Now, how long that cycle will take is a function of how you start, but that's another discussion.

 

Are these Copepods and amphipods often referred to as pods, bc I was reading an article on sumps/fudges and ppl kept going on about how the fudge can protect the pods, what are these pods and what do they look like?

 

buy a bunch of base rock then one piece of live rock.
That's how you do it.

 

Yes this is what I was referring to. They are a small invert that often is a very nice snack for you fish. Mine are all either clear or white in color. Range in size from really tiny to about a quarter inch in length. Look kinda like a miniture crawdad I think.

 

That's true, but not true at the same time. You need something to die/rot in order to start the cycle. Basically, whether it is the bacteria or organisms on the live rock, or a piece of deli shrimp it does not change the fact that something died and is now rotting in the tank, making food for the new bacteria to thrive on.

Dude!! There's no fudge in the saltwater world You mean "Fuge" which is short for "refugium" LOL

This one is true. Pods (copepods, amphipods, etc) are natural prey for fish and crustaceans. A refugium is a place without predators and the optimal conditions for pods to thrive.
Here's an amphipod

other types of pods:


a pregnant one: