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Live
Rock
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When setting
up your marine aquarium any budding hobbyist will always be keen to
introduce some life into the extremely sterile and sparse looking tank.
Live rock is a good choice as it creates an instant landscape with many platforms to support coral life, it is easy to build with and simple to create unique underwater seascapes. Not only is live rock attractive as a decor it also plays a fundamental role in the maturation process of the aquarium, it provides filtration and helps to maintain the chemical stability of the water. The basis of live rock is coral, this coral was once healthy but would have become weak by hosting creatures in it’s calcium carbonate structure. Once weakened the coral would be at the mercy of the seas, a good storm could snap off and break weak corals thus killing the polyps, they would be effectively be tumbled and broken down by the seas to form coral rubble, this rubble would soon be colonized by various forms of algae, micro-organisms and invertebrates. When brought from the wild live rock must be ‘cured’, this is a process where some of the inhabitants of the rock will die off. Things like crabs, worms, sea squirts and sponges that did not survive the journey will perish and for a time the rock will become stale. Some of the small, hardy invertebrates will survive and so will many algaes, these will bloom when placed into the aquarium and myriads of life will appear all by itself. As the rock continues to mature, coralline algae and microbes will increase, organics (from the decaying life on the rock) will be digested and ammonia will be produced. The ammonia level now rising and reacting with a pH of around 8.3 will create ammonium, this will begin the nitrogen cycle. Bacteria known as nitrosomonas feed up on the ammonium which will then produce nitrite, as this level rises in turn it begins a bloom of nitrobacter which transform nitrite to nitrate. Nitrate removal (de-nitrification) is what is known as an anaerobic process and the deep pores of the live rock are perfect for anaerobic bacteria to form, this bloom of bacteria will now convert the nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas which will dissipate out of the pores of the rock and leave the aquarium. The benefits of live rock are immense and as explained it really is the key to a successful marine aquarium. |
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Water
Decor
Webbs Garden Centre Kidderminster Road South West Hagley West Midlands DY9 0JB Click Here For Directions |
Open
Seven Days A Week Mon-Sat 9am to 6pm Sunday 9am to 4pm |
Telephone
(01562) 700929 waterdecor@hotmail.com |
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