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Replacing natural live rock with ceramic live rock


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  1. #1
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    Default Replacing natural live rock with ceramic live rock

    Hi everyone,

    I started a little experiment about 4 months ago for my own information, but also to tell others about. I had made my own rock mound out of clay and fired it in a kiln to turn it into ceramic. Each separate rock was made to have at least 20 or more holes in them to accommodate frag plugs. My biggest worry was that there would be impurities in the ceramic that would leach out into the water. I finally took the plunge and replaced a rock mound in my tank with a ceramic rock mound. Here are some photos of the original rock mound and the ceramic replacement. This first picture already has one rock replaced with a ceramic version. It was my way of "testing the waters". Luckily, no adverse effects were observed so I added more rocks later. Name:  IMG_2609[1].jpg
Views: 192
Size:  52.4 KB
    Last edited by msumatt; 05-12-2014 at 12:08 PM. Reason: Picture didn't show up correctly.

  2. #2
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    I tested the water before adding the first rock and got the following parameters:
    Salinity 1.030
    Calcium 350
    Alkalinity 6
    Phosphate .125
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    2 weeks later I tested all of the same parameters again and got the following:
    Salinity 1.030
    Calcium 340
    Alkalinity 7
    Phosphate .125
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    Since none of the values were beyond normal fluctuations I have from week to week, I added the rest of the rocks I made. Here's the picture of that below.
    Name:  IMG_2615[1].jpg
Views: 156
Size:  47.9 KB

  3. #3
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    The above was done between mid-February to beginning of March. Here are the parameters for the rest of March and April.
    Mid March
    Salinity 1.030
    Calcium 240
    Alkalinity 7
    Phosphate .125
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    End of March
    Salinity 1.029
    Calcium 300
    Alkalinity 7
    Phosphate .125
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    Mid April
    Salinity 1.028
    Calcium 290
    Alkalinity 6
    Phosphate .125
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    End of April
    Salinity 1.026
    Calcium 250
    Alkalinity 6
    Phosphate 0
    Nitrate 0
    pH 8.4

    You might have noticed a few things, my salinity was a bit high, my calcium went low and stayed there, my alkalinity is a bit low, and phosphate my be a little high. The salinity took me a while to correct, but more recent measurements show it about where I want it at 1.026. As for calcium, it might be the new rock, but I think it's more that I added many more SPS to the tank as they have been living more than a week, and they are sucking the calcium out of my tank. I've been adding calcium, but not enough to bring it up to around 450 (my goal). Alkalinity has always been lower in my tank, and I've never been able to get it up to 8 or 9 like I would like no matter what I try. And lastly, I can't quite tell the colors of the phosphate test that well. It looks equally likely to be 0 or 25 so I half the differences.

  4. #4
    jimsflies - Reefkeeper
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    Default

    Any issues with algae, diatoms, etc?

    Its handy to be able to make your own ceramic rock.

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the question. I actually had more images to upload of how it looks today, but they won't load. For now, the rocks have went from white to mostly dark brown though there are some specks of dark red present. I'm sure the pictures will help. No algae problems, not sure if the dark brown is diatoms, but I can say that color is only present on the new rock, and not on the corals. The dark brown also tends to be part of the succession of rocks I add to the system. They get that color, then it fades over time and is replaced by the pinkish color of calcareous algae. I'll try adding more photos (with closeups) later on this evening.

  6. #6
    dlhirst - Reefkeeper
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    Perhaps your LR would leach out calcium in the past to help replace what the SPS stole from the water? If that were happening, it would explain the pretty dramatic crash of Ca since you replaced all the LR with ceramics. The new pic is all dark at the bottom, so it's tough to tell if there is a sand bed capable of providing the same. But, I like the idea! (I pre-drilled holes in LR so I could stick frag plugs in easily. Wish I had drilled more!)

  7. #7
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    You raise a good point that I hadn't thought of. I was going to list advantages/disadvantages that I've learned soon, so I'll be sure to add that to the list. I have about a 2 inch deep sandbed, and though I haven't shown the rest of the tank, as a whole, two rock mounds of similar size are regular live rock, and only one rock mound is ceramic. This idea was actually born from what you described in that I tried drilling holes in live rock, and had mixed success (rocks breaking, or seemingly not wanting to drill). When I got done, I wanted more holes in the rock. Pictures still won't load, so I'll try again when I get back home this evening.

  8. #8
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    Here is how the tank looks today. It's now been about 3 months since I started the whole thing. Name:  IMG_2783[1].jpg
Views: 153
Size:  49.2 KB
    Last edited by msumatt; 06-20-2014 at 09:14 PM.

  9. #9
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    bump.....
    Last edited by msumatt; 06-20-2014 at 09:17 PM. Reason: Finally made the edit to the above image.

  10. #10
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    I had maybe 6 photos to show various close ups of the rocks, but could only get the one above and this one to work here. The cave shown here was really added just for fun and to make the rocks look more "rock-like", but my Randall's goby moved in and has called that it's home for the last moth or so. Name:  IMG_2790[1].jpg
Views: 129
Size:  55.0 KB
    Last edited by msumatt; 06-20-2014 at 09:18 PM.

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